Leave it All Up to Luck
by Katreal
Summary: A chance encounter in Tropical Land has Kaito taking the APTX. As if losing his old life wasn't enough, the disappearance of Kaitou Kid draws unwanted attention. Whether Toichi or Kaito behind the monocle, the Organization knows what needs to be done.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Don't own T-T Wish I did. But I don't.

Kaito frowned as he overlooked the scene, glancing slightly to the side to see his quarry crouched low behind the bushes, watching an interaction that seemed to be straight out of some sort of movie. Seriously, how often did a teenage detective stumble upon a meeting between two overly suspicious men AND find out that it happened to be a combination of blackmail AND weapons dealing? The basic chances were slim to none, and then throwing in having said detective's unknown rival follow him to the scene, all he could say was that it was a once in a life time occurrence.

The mere fact that Kaito had even seen the detective was amazing as it was; Tropical Land was huge, as were the crowds that frequented the amusement park. That he'd recognized him was even more so, considering he didn't know much about the person that had nearly foiled one of Kaitou Kid's heists other than his voice and his reputation. Kudou Shinichi was well known even in his neck of town, and after the nearly disastrous clock tower incident he'd looked into the potential pain-in-his-side with meticulous care.

The kid was an amazing detective, did well in sports and school as well if the gossip he'd heard was accurate enough, yet he seemed to be lacking in common sense. Who in their right mind would trail after a man dressed in a black suit and black sunglasses? Especially when you knew they had a partner dressed in similar attire? And even if one did follow, against all laws of the nagging little voice called common sense, wouldn't they leave the second they figured out that they had stumbled upon something _dangerous_? While most sane people would, it seemed the source of Kudou Shinichi's brilliance turned out to be true blue insanity.

But then what did that say about Kaito? He'd ignored his own nagging voice to follow Kudou, and still stuck around while he was listing to himself all the reasons Kudou was an idiot for not getting the hell out of here the minute he heard the words 'the money comes first'. Then again Kaito was anything but normal, and his version of weird was on the opposite end of the spectrum as the little detective's down there. Normal everyday high school magician by day, thief extraordinaire by night; Kaito figured he had a reason to be labeled insane; it kinda came with the job. Besides, someone would have to be a little more loopy than usual to run around at night stealing gems dressed in white.

Okay, so he had a reason, but that didn't stop him from calling Kudou every version of crazy in the dictionary and even some that weren't. Now that he'd figured out that his rival was insane—not that it was surprising, he _had _managed to get far enough into Kid's brain to stay a half a step ahead of him in the clock tower case—he had to figure out what he was going to do about it.

The thief in normal clothing scanned the area from his hiding place on top of the cement foundation and hidden in the frame of the Farris Wheel —he preferred high places, and could see almost everything from his vantage point. There was Kudou hiding behind the corner of the ride's foundation, the two strange men completing the deal by the base of the Farris wheel, and there was the guy's partner—

Kaito paused, the long haired guy was not where he was a second a go. He was moving toward the group, and would be in direct sight of the detective in a few minutes. _Crap, crap, crap, damn it Kudou._ There would be no time to fix the foolish kid's mistake. His mind was working in overdrive to discover a way to get the best outcome from a very bad situation, and the only thing he came up with was something even more stupid that he'd expected. He eyed the slowly approaching crow, making his final decision, _which is the world going to miss more, a genius thief or a detective genius?_ A wry smile flit across his face as he began to move, it didn't really matter what he answered that thought with, he had a policy of no casualties and he was going to maintain it.

He moved noiselessly, putting all of his thieving experience into his effort, and double checked on the progress of the incoming MiB—man in black, his love of movies came in handy sometimes—and determined he still had about half a minute of leeway before he'd be in danger of being caught. He positioned himself directly above the detective—who was reaching inside his jacket for something—and fell off the cement foundation, landing directly behind the kid and wrapping his hand over his mouth to stifle any sound. The boy froze, but luckily had kept enough of his wits to stay quiet, "Good." Kaito murmured in his ear, "The other is coming, stay quiet and _don't move._" He hissed the last part and shoved the teenager into the heavy bushes a few feet away, taking his last few seconds of grace to make sure he was thoroughly hidden and positioning himself where Kudou had been. He even went so far as to pick up the disposable camera Kudou had dropped and position it as if to take a picture.

Then he heard it, a faint footstep behind him, and a whoosh as a sharp pain exploded on the back of his head. While it wasn't quite enough to knock him out—he'd suffered worse in his career—the softly whispered words did nothing to help the monstrous headache he'd been gifted with, "Your detective game…is over…"

He allowed himself to fall to the ground with a thud, willing the detective to listen to his self preservation instincts for once and stay quiet. He wasn't worried about being killed here, a gunshot would draw the attention of the lingering police force and from what he'd seen, these guys liked to keep a low profile.

"This little shit was trailing us."

"Hey is that the detective—"

The stockier one was cut off mid sentence, probably by a nod or head shake or some other type of gesture. He couldn't really see since he was a) face down in the dirt and b) his vision was still swimming from the blow to the head. He was pleasantly surprised to find he could still think in a fashion that vaguely resembled clearly. The MiB that hit him leaned over and jerked his head up by the back of his jacket; the man's face swam in his vision, the empty black eyes the only feature that stood out, cold, calculating, they sent a shiver through Kaito's form and he couldn't help but wonder what the detective had managed to stumble onto this time.

"No. It's some other random punk."

The iron grip on his collar didn't let up, and Kaito heard the click of a gun, and the shorter man's question about whether to end his life. His captor's answer was as he had expected--no guns for fear of the police. Now they'd probably take him somewhere to get the job done, and he knew he'd have a far better chance of getting away from them than Kudou. Being a thief meant he'd had prior experience with the escape arts, he had to if he wanted to keep his hands out of cuffs and his tail out of prison.

Of course, nothing ever wants to go quite as planned, and his half lidded eyes bulged a little at the black-eyed one's decision. Poison. _Shit._ He hadn't even considered poison.

He clamped his mouth shut, and soon felt something small being pressed against his lips. From the size and shape it seemed to be a capsule. Well, well, that wouldn't hurt him if he didn't digest it.

"Uncooperative little punk." The gravelly voice was beginning to become laced with annoyance, "Vodka, cover his nose."

_Vodka? What a strange name…_ The thought drifted across his mind as he the large hand covered his nose, cutting off his oxygen supply. He knew what they were trying to do, they wanted to make him open his mouth to try and breathe. Too bad, he was going to make it as hard as possible. He was lucky he held the record for breath holding at his school.

Just above the bulky hand he could see the bush he'd dumped Kudou in. So far the boy hadn't tried anything stupid, and he really hoped it stayed that way. Kaito was starting to feel lightheaded as the seconds passed; he didn't know how much longer he could last with his lungs near screaming for air.

It was nearing three minutes when he couldn't take it anymore, and he unintentionally gulped in a large breath of air. The unnamed MiB used the opportunity to thrust the pill into his mouth, the sudden intrusion nearly causing him to gag. Some sort of liquid, water by the taste of it—or lack thereof, ended up washing it down and the man finally let go of his jacket. Kaito once more landed with his face into the dirt, but this time he was barely able to form a coherent thought.

"So long punk."

He was barely aware of the retreating footsteps, or of the faint rustle in the bushes beside him. All he could focus on was the fire building inside, growing larger with each and every second until it encompassed his every waking thought. Everything was burning, engulfed in flames that only he could see.

"H…ey…" He couldn't hear over the roar of the flames as they soon became his whole world.

To say he was relieved when he finally blacked out was the understatement of the century.

A/N: I think I've already mentioned I hated plot bunnies…well this one kinda bit when I was working on the 2nd chapter to Masquerade. Before I knew it, it was over 1500 words and still growing. I hope no one has done this idea before…I don't think I've seen it and I've scoured the DC section looking for more fics to read. The lack of fics might actually be the reason for these bunnies. If you can't find it, write it.

Please excuse any typos and point them out to me if possible. I am trying to compile a dictionary of words from the language of Idoono, a guide to modern typos(not really, I just wanna fix 'em).

There are two outcomes for this story. 1) I end up continuing it, or 2) it gets put on the back burner until I get at least one other story out of the way. I dunno which it will be yet, I happen to like this idea.

Anyways, if any pairings at all it will be ShinichixKaito, but nothing explicit.

Drop a review if you like. Actually, I'd much prefer it to just alerting. It's been a bit depressing how many alerts I get versus the reviews I get.

oO long author's memo.


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: See first chappie.

To say he was surprised when he had been suddenly grabbed from behind would have been an understatement. To say he hadn't been scared would have been an outright lie. The first thing that sprang to his mind was that the second one had arrived, and he'd just started to berate himself fiercely for forgetting that there had been two of them on the rollercoaster when the voice had whispered in his ear. It was _not_ the distinctive voice he remembered from the ride. Of course he didn't rule out the possibility that it could belong to another accomplice, but the soft warning shushed the doubt, and led him to allow the other to do what he would. It was only mere seconds after his rescuer had successfully hidden him, before Shinichi heard _that_ voice, along with the dull thud of metal striking skull.

He wanted to see what was going on, wanted to help, but his body was frozen with fear. He'd always been the one to come upon these scenes after everything was said and done. He could look on a dead body and only feel pity that a life had been ended, feel the determination to ferret out the culprit and mete out justice. He'd never been this close to it as it happened.

Something fell through the bushes just to the right of him; it landed with a loud thud in the soil, and sent a shiver of fear through his body. He could see a darker stain against the grey metal, glistening a little in the light shed through the holes in the leaf coverage—blood. If it hadn't been for the other, _he_ would be the one that came in contact with that heavy blunt object; it would have been his blood staining the pipe.

He couldn't move, not even to turn over and see what was going on behind him. The men in black's voices murmured somewhere in the back of his brain and he barely registered that they were discussing how to best get rid of his rescuer. The faint snick of the safety being released was the click that started to release him from his paralysis, but feeling was slow to return.

_Move…_

"We'll use this…the new poison the organization developed…"

_Move…!_

"Uncooperative little punk. Vodka, hold his nose."

_MoveMoveMove!_

_MOVE DAMN IT!_

"There, stupid kid." His hand twitched as he finally managed to plow through the brunt of the inhibiting fear. He slowly rose from the ground, taking as much care as he could spare to keep his body from shaking uncontrollably. It was difficult to do so, there wasn't much room to spare underneath the bush and it was all he could do to limit the noise his motions made. "So long punk."

The running footsteps were long gone by the time fear fully relinquished its hold over his motor functions, and he could finally bring himself to break through the leafy barrier that had been his only shield between the preying eyes of the two men in black. He rose hesitantly to his feet, unable to quell the shivers that still wracked his frame. The fear was ebbing, but its effect was slow to follow. He'd never felt scared for his life before, he'd always been safely with Inspector Megure whenever confronting a criminal. It was a new feeling, and not one he wanted to experience again. Ever.

Shinichi took a few shaky steps, leaving the safety of the bushes and heading toward the huddled form on the ground, blood trickling across his face from the wound on his head. He was reluctant to touch his rescuer at first, trying to get his attention with a series of spoken "Hey!"s. When that failed and the other remained trapped in a sort of delirium, the unnamed man in black's words came back to him, causing him to grit his teeth, "Right, experimental poison."

The detective knelt down on the earthy ground, lightly touching the boy's exposed forehead with his hand. He was only in contact for a second before he jerked his hand back, wincing a little in pain as he reached in his jacket for his cell phone, "He's burning up…" He muttered to himself, worry filtering into his voice as he dialed a number. He was having a hard time believing that his rescuer was only a teenager, probably around his own age at that. He didn't know why, but he'd been expecting one of the police officers to be behind it all. A tall seasoned veteran, not someone who could be his classmate!

The cell finally connected, and before the other person could speak, Shinichi spoke sharply, "Professor, where are you?"

"Shinichi…? I was about to go to Columbo. Why?"

"I need you here at Tropical Land ASAP." Shinichi felt slightly bad about ruining his neighbor's date with dinner, but there was a life at stake here. He couldn't take him to the hospital, an experimental poison wasn't likely to have an antidote in stock, and it might just have components that react badly to normal anti-toxins. Professor Agasa was an inventor with a small medical background; he might be able to come up with something that a normal doctor couldn't. "Please professor…I'll explain when you get here."

It seemed like the good professor would refuse, but in the end sighed in resignation, "Alright, but only because I know you would only call me for a good reason."

After delivering a heartfelt thanks, and receiving an assurance that Agasa would be there in a few minutes, Shinichi hung up the phone. He glanced around, leaning over and tearing a strip of his shirt free. After he'd gotten enough of the material—never mind that his stomach was getting a little chilly from being exposed to the night air—he knelt down and gently lifted the youth's head, drawing on his rudimentary knowledge of first aid to bandage the still bleeding gash. To be truthful, the guy was lucky to be alive. The blow hadn't been delivered with enough force to kill, merely to distract and disorient.

With the bleeding staunched, he should be fine once they figured out what to do about the poison.

Shinichi knelt down next to the young man, there was no way he'd be able to move the full grown teenager on his own. He was a soccer player, not a body builder, and his upper body strength was nowhere near as strong as his lower. While he could kick an object with enough force to knock someone unconcious, heavy lifting was impossible on his own.

He glanced down at his watch, and then up at the fading light of the sun, if Agasa didn't hurry he'd be forced to inform the park security to get them to allow the professor in. The less people who knew about the situation the better, but the park did not allow entry after closing time. He didn't want word to get back to those men…

Shinichi's phone vibrated and he picked it up in a hurry, "I'm here Shinichi-kun. Where are you?"

"Come around by the west gate, we're right near the Ferris Wheel."

"We?"

"I'm gonna need your help with this, Professor…"

Somehow, between the two of them, the newly arrived Professor and Shinichi managed to support the youth upright as they walked out of the park. Luckily the security guard at the gate was tired and distracted, waving them through after discovering that their 'friend' was feeling a little faint and they didn't want to risk letting him walk on his own.

Surprisingly enough, the teenager's body had stopped moving, and instead had fallen still. He was still breathing—Shinichi kept checking every thirty seconds—everything else just seemed to have…shut down.

As they gently lowered the messy haired youth into the back of Agasa's beetle neither of the distracted men noticed that their burden was starting to shift a little, small spasms breaking out all over the place. The backseat was just barely large enough for the teenager to lie down, so Shinichi sat upfront with the Professor, telling him everything he knew about the events leading up to now.

-

Fire…everything was so hot. The pain was almost mindbreaking. He'd been jerked out of blissful unconsciousness to hover somewhere in the realm between waking and oblivion, only to discover that the only thing he could feel was the heat of the fire that had grown inside of him. He was sure that his bones had long since melted from the heat, and were sloshing around inside his body as some sort of liquefied goo.

At least the fact that he could feel pain reminded him that he was still alive. Whether to curse the fact or bless it he couldn't quite decide. A strange sensation started up, a feeling that vaguely reminded his clouded mind of a loaf of bread being kneaded. Stretch, retract, stretch, retract, and repeat again.

And then, with a final snap, everything slid into place. As quickly as it began, the fires were quenched, leaving his little world strangely cold and empty. His consciousness floated closer to the surface of waking, and he could feel a slight vibration beneath his back, and a sort of whirring noise drifted into his ears—a motor? Murmuring voices drifted from somewhere to his left, but he his numbed mind could not understand a word that was spoken.

He didn't notice the gentle rolling motion until it was gone, the vehicle breaking and lowing to a stop. He willed his body to respond, but it all felt…strange. There was no other way to describe it. Kaito knew the inner workings and capabilities of his body better than most—he had to in order to do half the acrobatics stunts he used in his night life—and it was only because of that familiarity that he could sense the unfamiliar territory he was currently floundering through.

Eventually though, he was able to make out bits of conversation.

"We're…prepare…get…him?"

A muttered affirmative and the sound of a car door opening and closing. As time passed, things became clearer, but he still couldn't bring his body to respond to his orders. Opening his eyes was first on his list, followed by turning his head a little. There was a crick forming in his neck.

The door opened again, and he clearly heard a strangled gasp. Hmm, that was a good sign. Maybe he could actually move his hand now? Kaito focused his will into moving his right hand—it was falling asleep squished between his side and the seat back—but only received a twitch for his efforts.

"What the hell…Agasa!" A vaguely familiar voice yelled from somewhere near his feet, but the shout was directed away from him. Feeling began to leech back into his limbs as an answering voice was heard, "What is it? Is he dead?!"

_No…But being unable to do anything but breathe is getting annoying._ Kaito responded silently, growing annoyed—not to mention a tad bit afraid—at his current disability. He didn't like not being in control of himself, and he was trying to speed up his reclamation of his limbs as much as possible. He didn't think these people were with the two bastards who tried to kill him, but that didn't mean he wanted to be helpless.

"No but…"

"Goodness! This is…it's impossible!"

_What's the old geezer babbling about now?_ Kaito didn't like the gobsmacked note in the older voice; it was making him feel even more edgy than before. He wondered if maybe the poison had turned him purple and gave him an extra head. Kaito vaguely recalled the MiB mentioning something about it not having been tested on people, maybe instead of killing the target as intended it merely left him with an unorthodox yet undesirable side effect? While it was a better alternative to being dead, he was slightly worried about the side effect.

"Shin-kun, get him out of the car, quickly!"

He listened as the owner of the familiar voice obeyed, and his thief senses were suddenly aware of something leaning over him. Something much larger than him. The warning set his mind into overdrive, an instinctive reaction that seemed to speed up his recovery. He regained full control just as an arm slid around his shoulders and another under his knees, beginning to lift him from the seat.

His eyes shot open only to find himself staring at something blue and white. The lack of support caused his arms to flail a bit, before wrapping instinctively around the closest thing he could grab, the other man's neck. He quickly shut his eyes as the person holding him backed out of the car, only loosening his death grip when he felt his support stabilize. Blue-purple eyes peeked open, his head tilting back to look up past the blue blazer and white undershirt. His eyes widened as he recognized the face, "Kudou…"

"Awake are you." The teenaged detective stayed rooted to his spot, not moving away from the car as he looked down into Kaito's eyes. Wait, wait, wait! Hold the presses! Kaito's mind swam as he fought to figure out just how the detective was able to carry a full grown teenager, not to mention why he had to look up so far to meet Shinichi's eyes. Even if Kudou had the strength to hold Kaito like this, in this position his head would be only slightly lower than the detective's own. As it was, there was at least half a foot difference.

He turned his head a little, his eyes focusing on his own hand. A hand that was far smaller than he was used to, an arm that was shorter. His sleeves were bunching up in places, no longer did they fit snugly against his slender frame, "This is…"

Kaito removed his hand from Shinichi's shoulder, eyeing it with some sort of horrified fascination. The scar he'd gotten from his card gun was gone, as were the calluses formed by gripping his glider controls. A conclusion began to form in him mind, reinforced by the reactions earlier and his observations. His hand slipped limply back to Kudou's shoulder, small fingers curling into a fist and grabbing a swath of the fabric. He plastered a nervous smile on his face, returning his eyes to the detective's unwavering stare, "Well…at least I'm not dead…"

"That…is a plus." Kudou had to admit, "You are aware that you look…"

"Ten? Yeah." Kaito shrugged his small shoulders, the neck of his unbuttoned shirt falling a little to reveal the skin on his back, "I'm missing the scar I got when I was eleven, but I have the one from when I was nine. I'd say the age is a pretty safe estimate."

"You aren't…horrified?" Kudou sounded incredulous, starting to move down the driveway from the car and toward a large, mansion-like house beyond the gate, "You're taking this rather well."

"Terrified actually." Kaito managed to say cheerfully, thanking whatever deity that was out there that his father had taught him about the Poker Face. Without it he would have been panicking and going nuts by now, "The poison was supposed to kill me, but it only managed the past seven years. I'd say I got off pretty lucky."

-

A/N:…I hate waking up and having inspiration. I actually like sleep.

Anyways, here's the next chapter. Unbeta'd obviously, if anyone sees any glaring errors don't hesitate to tell me.

I love the response I've gotten for both of these recent stories, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Seeing people take the time to respond really makes me happy, and the positive response leads to even more warm fuzzy feelings.

Normally I would wait until later to post this, maybe after I got Hittocere to look over it, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna have internet connection then. So I'm just gonna put it up now. The next one to work on will be Masq…the chapter's about halfway done anyway.

Review please—they fuel the fire n.n

Btw…Hittocere rocks T-T She drew a pretty piccie of Kai-chan and Shin-chan. I'll have to bug her for permission to post the link when she finishes.

I don't want to make this A/N longer, but I feel the need to explain something. I know Conan was aged back 10 years, so was Ai supposedly. But I highly doubt the poison specifically takes off 10 years every time. It probably varies with the person and the amount of poison administered. Not to mention people don't know exactly how old Ai is. She may just say she's Conan's age to be in his class.

Anyway, what I'm saying is that I am aware of the discrepancy, and it was done on purpose to make things different.


	3. Chapter Three

At first it had been easy, just act his cheerful, if not mischievous self and let the good doctor perform his tests. Kaito had even derived some level of amusement from pestering the high school detective—who had been assigned to baby-sit him when Agasa barricaded himself in his lab to analyze the test results—but once everything had settled down and he'd gotten comfortable in one of the spare bedrooms it got difficult to ignore how wrong everything was. Left alone by himself, Kaito had little else to do but think. Just what was he going to do about his little problem?

He wasn't naïve, he knew that the doctor would not be able to come up with an antidote within a few weeks—frankly he doubted if Agasa could at all. Not that he doubted that the man was gifted, just there was a difference between a mechanical genius and a genius doctor, and a slight background in medicine couldn't quite change that. It might take months, possibly even years to hunt down a doctor with the capabilities to unravel the virus' chemical makeup—assuming they managed to get a hold of a complete sample of the drug.

Kaito sighed and rolled over, the ceiling was too plain to keep his attention for too long, and pulled the comforter closer around him. At first he tried to imagine he was at home, tucked into his own bed, but his overly sharp mind would not let him delude himself so. The bed was too big, the blanket felt wrong, and his vain attempts only led to more slightly depressing thoughts.

He couldn't go home, it was a point that all three of them agreed on. His mother lived alone, and had no extended relatives. A little child showing up on her doorstep claiming to be a relative through someone who didn't exist…he didn't even have to consider the option for long to know that it would garner suspicion. He wasn't even thinking about the MiB's suspicion, but Aoko's and Hakuba's. If there was one thing he was certain of, the less people who knew the better. Not only for his chances of keeping a low profile, but it would also help Kudou in his quest to track down more information on the bastards.

The detective had offered his services in catching the MiB, Kaito wasn't exactly sure why, but he figured it had something to do with the fact that he'd been poisoned because he'd knocked Kudou out of the way. Whatever the reason, he had mixed feelings about the proposition. On one hand, he was glad. He couldn't handle these people the way he'd gone around handling Jackal and his buddies and he wasn't in the best position for covert information gathering. On the other hand, he was loathe to involve his alter ego's rival. Doing so would inevitably pose a danger to the many secrets he wished to keep to himself(such as his night job), and most likely put the detective in danger should the probing be discovered.

But it wasn't like he could be Kid anymore. Kid wasn't…well, a kid. There was no way he could fool Nakamori and the task force that Kid was actually a 10 year old kid. They may be slow on the uptake, but they weren't stupid.

As it was, his entire life was looking pretty dreary at the moment.

Kaito sighed and sat up in the bed, shaking his head to try and scatter the pestering thoughts. It was no good, they continued to plague him, and all pretenses of trying to sleep were thrown to the wind.

Kaito slipped out of the bed, the slightly large, borrowed pajamas hanging loose on his body as his now slippered feet moved across the wooden floor of the guest room. He navigated the large house rather easily, his photographic memory playing a big part as he retraced the route he'd taken earlier that day. Eventually it led to the front door, and he quietly eased it open, moving out into the cool night air.

The moon was waxing, but wasn't quite full, spilling its silvery luminance over the Kudou's garden. It was wild, and had been mostly left to its own devices since the lady of the house had moved out, but the clear air was like a balm in its own way. But the moon, the moon was mocking him. He saw Kid's taunting face in the crater marked surface, and drove home the realization that he wouldn't be able to accomplish his goal, wouldn't be able to avenge his father, wouldn't be able to savor the thrill and accomplishment he felt when a heist—despite the police's and the high school detective's efforts—went unerringly right.

The thin Poker Face he'd slipped on when the thoughts first began cracked, starting to crumble under the onslaught of reality. All of a sudden, he didn't feel like a high school student, like a professional thief, or even like an amateur magician. He felt like he really was a kid again, before his father had taught him the art of the Poker Face, when he could show his parents every little thing he felt.

_But no matter what, you shouldn't let it show on your face._

The words he'd always taken to heart weighed down on him, and he found it hard to cling to them, to follow them. He looked up at the moon, a light night breeze slipping through his displaced bangs, "Dad…" He kept the picture of the waxing moon in his mind, closing his eyes, trying to imagine what his father would say if he were here.

A light touch ghosted over his shoulder, but he didn't open his eyes until a voice spoke from behind him. It wasn't his mind's illusion of his father's, but instead was one similar to his own—well, his older—voice. "What're you still doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep…" Kaito shivered a little at the chill, the comforting images of his father fleeing farther from his grasp with every second.

"I'd been wondering when it would crash." Kudou Shinichi's voice was more of a murmur to himself than any kind of comment to the 17-turned-10-year old, "I was surprised you'd lasted so long."

Kaito was quiet, his eyes opening slowly and his body turning a little so he could see the detective. He was surprised Kudou had heard him, and was even more surprised that he'd followed him. At first he was annoyed, believing the (currently) elder boy was treating him like the child he appeared to be, a child that was not supposed to be able to take care of himself. But after a moment, he realized, that wasn't the case at all.

"My father…" He started awkwardly, "used to tell me…"

Kudou was worried. Kaito's apparent disregard for his condition had disturbed the detective.

"No matter what cards you have in your hand—in your life…"

He wasn't really sure why he wanted to share the memory with Kudou, his father was often a touchy subject with the young magician. Maybe it was because he still had images of Toichi floating around his immediate thoughts.

"Do not show any reaction. Keep on like it didn't matter."

It didn't matter why, the words came out anyway.

"Just like in poker."

Kaito nodded, only vaguely hearing the comment, "Aa. Whether the reaction be good or bad, just don't let it show."

The last of the mask cracked and fell away.

"I don't think I can do it right now."

Kudou didn't respond, leaving the garden shrouded in the newly restored silence.

--

Shinichi expected something to be different the next morning, but the kid seemed just as cheerful and worry-free as he had the day before. But now that he knew, now that he'd experienced the nighttime chat in the garden, he could start to see just how faked the smiles were. It wasn't much, he wouldn't have—and hadn't—noticed if he hadn't been looking for it.

Professor Agasa had popped over a little after breakfast, reporting that beyond his little shrinking problem, Kaito seemed fine. He did warn him to avoid colds like the plague, but otherwise was given a clean bill of health. With his report given the genial professor wandered back to his lab, planning on tinkering with his various inventions and running a search for a match on the fraction of the drug's fragmented chemical code they'd managed to extract, leaving the two teenagers to their own devices.

Kaito had immediately disappeared to explore the large house, leaving Shinichi to spend a good hour or so trying to track the scamp down. Normally he didn't notice just how large the house was—he never went into any of the rooms beyond his own, the kitchen, living room, and the library—and searching for one insanely curious teenager-turned-kid drove home just how large it was. He finally found the unstoppable ball of energy in the library, curled in one of the comfortable reading chairs with a book he'd pulled off one of the shelves.

Shinichi stood in the doorway, taking a long deserved break from running around the house. It was good that Kaito was getting familiar with the place, with the way things were going he'd probably be stuck here until they found out more about the men in black. Kaito wasn't willing to place his mother and friends in possible danger, and Shinichi and Agasa were the only ones who knew about his little mess up. Agasa didn't really have the room—they'd all been converted into pseudo workshops—and Kaito wasn't too keen on rooming with the old man anyway. Shinichi had both the room and finances, and he wouldn't mind a roommate, it was rather lonely living alone in such a large house. It was one of the reasons he spent all the time he could away from home, and hung out with Ran so mu—

Crap. His mind ground to a halt. He'd forgotten about Ran!

He fished into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone and checking the messages. He had one missed call and quickly pressed redial before putting it up to his ear. After the _click_ that signaled the phone being picked up, the voice of his friend—_best_ friend. Not that he would ever admit it aloud—came over the line, _"Hello, Mouri Detective Agency."_

"Ran. It's me." He heard a sigh of relief over the line and waited for the girl to begin the customary scolding, _"You should have called me last night, Shinichi. I was about to go over there, but Daddy actually got called on a case and I had to watch the office."_

"Sorry about that." Shinichi couldn't help but snicker to himself, so Mouri had finally been given a case? Ran's father wasn't really that bad of a detective, but his attitude could really use an adjustment and his hastiness sometimes lost him his reputation whenever he managed to glean even the slightest bit of renown. "The old man got some work? How'd it go?"

"_Not well…" _Ran's voice was quiet, "_It was a kidnapping. Daddy finally found the criminal, but…"_

The words '_he was too late'_ hung unspoken between them.

Shinichi ended up diverting the topic, promising to stop by and see her sometime later that day. It wouldn't be difficult to manage, he'd promised Kaito he'd get to talk to his mother today and then they'd go shopping for some better fitting clothes for him. Currently the boy was stuck in some of Shinichi's old stuff, which were a bit small for him. Shinichi had been a rather short kid…

After ending the phone call he found Kaito staring at him, an amused look in his eyes and an arched eyebrow, "So…who was it?"

"A friend." He didn't like that look, and he knew if he didn't successfully divert the topic he'd probably be teased mercilessly, "So, are you ready?"

The mischievous light slipped away, replaced by curiosity. The boy uncurled himself, letting his legs dangle off the reading chair since they didn't quite reach the floor, "Ready to do what?"

"Didn't you say your mother had the day off?" He saw understanding flicker across the thinly masked face, and caught a very faint spike of nervousness as it cracked a little. A small hand picked up a bookmark from the table beside the chair, marking his place in the book before placing it down on the table, "So soon?"

"Do you want her to worry?"

Shinichi's question elicited a shake of the boy's head and the cracks sealed up. A smile danced as he hopped off the chair, "Let's go!"

As the detective followed the boy out, he noticed that Kaito's hand had slipped into the pocket of his borrowed jeans.

--

Kaito tugged nervously at the ball cap Shinichi had lent him, looking up the pathway that led to the front door, _his_ front door. Kudou stood right behind him, and gave him a slight nudge when he noticed Kaito's hesitation. The boy yielded to the other's prodding and began up the walkway, his fingers curling around the object in his pocket as he moved closer.

He could do this; he knew he could convince her that he was Kaito. He could do this.

But then, why was he so nervous?

He'd kept it from showing, but he was. He pulled the lip of his cap lower, glad for the slight protection it offered. He didn't want to run into Aoko, or anyone else who knew what he looked like when he was younger. He didn't want anyone to know.

Not one…

The hand in his pocket tightened, just as the other reached for the door, pressing the doorbell.

But he had to...

He could hear the doorbell echo inside, could hear his heart pound in his ears.

Had to tell her...

The door opened. Kudou could probably hear it from the sidewalk.

That he was alright.

'_Mom…'_

A/N: The cliffhanger was all Hittocere's idea.

I was afraid Kaito might be OOC in this chapter, but I kinda like how it turned out.

As promised, link-- deviantart(dot)com(slash)deviation(slash)58728965(slash)  
FFnet does something funny to links, so just replace the (dot)s and(shash)es with the indicated symbol. It's pretty—

As always reviews are happily appreciated(and encouraged n.n)!


	4. Chapter Four

Hint thingy: sudden POV changes in this chappie. Short _italic _sentences are Kai's thoughts and _**bold italics **_are his mom's.

When he didn't come back that night, she wasn't too worried. When he didn't even call, she got nervous. When the next day was almost half over and there was still no word, she started imagining the worst.

She didn't want to think about it, Kaito was a smart kid, a resourceful kid. He could take care of himself. He was independent, always coming and going, sometimes without a word, and sometimes late at night.

Every time, he came back the next morning. If it took longer than that, he'd call and say he was at a friend's house. She knew full well that he wasn't, but since he always came back she decided not to press it. She had an idea of what he was doing, a very good idea. But as with his father, she had no proof. No proof beyond the fact that she never got to sit and watch a Kid heist with either of them.

It was a dangerous hobby, if she was right in her hypothesis, but she never made a move to stop him. Indeed, she even did her best to help. Whenever a Kid heist came up, she made sure to not plan anything for the evening and the day after. When he got mysteriously injured, she'd pretend not to see the hidden injury and covertly lighten his chore list until it healed.

Maybe she'd always taken it for granted that he would come back, and the full reality that he could be caught or even _killed_ had never seemed possible. It was possible. Very possible.

Fearing the worst at last.

Whenever the phone rang, she'd jump to her feet and answer it. Whenever the doorbell rang she was at it in a second. But disappointment after disappointment was beginning to wear away at her hope, and replace it with despair. For Kuroba Hiromi, the same cycle continued until around 2 o'clock in the afternoon when it abruptly ground to a halt.

The doorbell rang.

Hiromi almost dropped the pot she'd been washing, and instead she set it neatly in the sink before running off to the door. She took a second to will herself to calm, before she reached down and turned the knob.

--

'_I can't.'_

Paper crumpled.

--

At first she didn't see anyone, her spirits falling as she scolded herself for getting so excited over some kid's prank. But then her eyes landed on the teenager waiting on the sidewalk, hopes rising as she saw the resemblance to her son. It could be him. All it would take was some gel to tame the wild mop of hair her son had.

But something told her he wasn't. He wasn't even looking her way, instead he was staring out at the street, his arms crossed a little—waiting?

There was a sound somewhere below her line of vision, and her eyes moved. There was a small boy standing on her doorstep, hands stuck in his pocket and a baseball hat pulled low over his face. "Yes?"

--

'_I don't want you to see'_

--

"Are you…Kuroba-san?"

"Yes…" He didn't look up when he asked, nor did he when Hiromi answered. He just stood there, hands in his pockets and looking down at the ground, "Can I help you?"

--

'_Not like this. But I have to…'_

--

"I was told to give you something." The hand withdrew from his pocket, bringing with it a crumpled piece of paper. He slowly began to smooth it out, "He told me to give it to Kuroba-san and then he gave Niisan the address."

Hiromi glanced over at the teenager waiting by the road. Was he the boy's brother? Was that why he was here?

The boy held out his hand, offering her the paper. She took it, the skin of her fingertips brushing lightly against the small palm. Her eyes dropped to the missive, eyes filling with tears. It was in _his _hand.

--

'_let you know…'_

_--_

"Thank you, boy…" A few tears stained her cheek before she could say anything. The boy stayed quiet, but she could sense the discomfort the tears were causing him.

"If you see him again, tell him to call me, alright?"

The boy's head bobbed up and down, dark brown hair shifting a little in the movement, "I will."

_--_

'_I _will_ come back'_

--

He turned away from her, setting off down the walk. The boy crossed the last few feet of distance at a run, heading up right beside the teenager on the street, taking the elder's hand in his own. After a moment's conferring, they set off down the walk, the very image of two siblings.

Hiromi held the note close, letting the tears fall. They weren't tears of despair, but of happiness. He was alive. He would come back.

The caricature at the bottom proved it was real.

'_Wait for me, 'kaa-san. I have something I need to do.'_

Her answer.

'_**Always'**_

--

'_Always'_

_--_

Kaito felt marginally better as they walked away from the neighborhood, heading for the bus stop that would lead to the next part of the trip. He hadn't been sure if he could face his mom like this, so he'd written the note ahead of time, as soon as he heard Kudou mention the trip in fact. It was a backup, in case his courage failed him and he couldn't go through with it.

It had, and he wasn't proud of it. He'd taken the easy way out, changing his voice when speaking to her, avoiding any speech patterns that would cause her to think of him, and hiding his face. But it was worth it.

From the minute he heard her voice, he knew how worried she'd been. Worried because of him. It had cracked his resolve, and sent him automatically running for the back-up plan. No matter how cowardly it made him feel, she wouldn't worry any more.

--

'_**I don't know how'**_

--

He'd always known his mother suspected that he'd taken up his father's ways. It would have been hard for her _not_ to come to the conclusion. But she'd never confronted him about it, so he'd never told her. It had always been better that way; if the police ever caught him she'd be safe from being called an accomplice.

Leaving Kid's caricature on the note was his way of confirming her suspicions, trusting her with the secret, as well as giving her something that only Kaito would know. Kaito and Kid's handwriting were different—he had little trouble shifting his patterns, much like his ease with his voice—so a letter in Kaito's hand, with Kid's signature...No one would be able to replicate it.

--

'_**But it was nice to see you'**_

--

The bus was noisy; it was always noisy on the weekends. Kaito was positioned between Shinichi and the window of the bus, his height just barely allowing him to stare out the window comfortably. He hadn't spoken much since informing the detective that he was finished, and he could tell that his silence was bothering him.

"You didn't tell her, did you?" Apparently Kudou had been patient enough, using the noisy cover as a cue to start speaking. Amid the various other conversations, someone would be hard pressed to make out what he was saying.

Kaito shook his head, "She knows I'm fine, I did tell her that much."

--

'_**Of course I could tell, I know everything about you.'**_

**--**

"Why didn't you?"

Kaito fixed Kudou with a strange look, trying to keep his expression from showing his irritation. He understood the detective was concerned, but he didn't have to explain everything. It wasn't like it was Kudou's business.

If being a little quiet ended up getting the detective nosy, he decided he'd just have to keep a firmer hold of his mask. He'd been letting it slip a little since the night's talk, figuring that since the detective knew, he didn't have to put so much effort into maintaining it.

"I didn't want to. Just drop it, Kudou." Don't show irritation, followed up by a dismissive shrug and a smile, "Where are we going anyway? The mall I get dragged to is the other direction."

--

'_**Scars can tell a lot, Kaito.'**_

Hiromi smiled to herself, a slender finger tracing the edge of the photo. She'd been right. Somehow, someway, she'd just seen someone who'd been lost to the stream of time. It was someone who only lived on in the family's photo album, and in her memories.

The picture was of her son, at least 7 years younger than he was now. His face was twisted into a happy smile, excitedly showing his palm to the camera, a small x shaped scar clearly visible. It was the same scar she'd just felt on the palm of the boy.

If it weren't for the slight brush of her fingers against the raised skin, she would have never known.

She remembered when it'd happened. It hadn't been any special sort of day. She'd been in the kitchen, her hands methodically scrubbing some of the larger dishes. A song Toichi loved had been stuck in her head all day, and she'd been humming it to herself as she went about the house.

Hiromi had just finished the second verse before a strange noise broke it off, snapping her train of thought in half before drawing it to the next room. But it wasn't the noise that made her drop what she was doing, but the small whimper of pain she wouldn't have noticed if she'd still been humming.

A mother's instinct has, and always will be, the most powerful force in the world. There are stories of what a mother can do when driven by the need to protect her child, or to make sure her child is alright. Hiromi was well used to this instinct, Kaito had always been a troublesome child—always finding some way to get into trouble or getting himself hurt—and let it wash over her and carry her away into the living room. .

Kneeling in the center of the room, hunched over with his hand cradled close to his chest, was her baby. There were various small instruments scattered across the carpet, but only one caught her eye. It was long and thin, the silver point stained red with blood.

"Kaito!" She was soon on the floor with her son, trying to coax him to show her his hand, "What happened?!"

Blood was beginning to pool in his palm as he grudgingly held it out to her, seeping out from the wound nearly smack dab in the center. She could see tears gathering at the corner of his eyes, but her little boy did not cry.

"Mom…has been singing Dad's song…" He finally answered after she'd returned from fetching the first aid kit, feeling a little embarrassed when she'd stopped tending to the stab wound to look at him, "I wanted…to surprise you with one of his tricks."

She'd smiled sadly and hugged him around the shoulders, "Some of Dad's tricks are dangerous, Kaito. Neither he, nor I want to see you get hurt with them."

Kaito apparently took her words to heart, leaving the more complex—and slightly dangerous—tricks alone until he'd grown into the rebellious teenager stage and unearthed them again. The wound on his palm never fully healed, but she knew how lucky they'd been with it. Hand wounds always had been tricky, and there was a scary chance that Kaito would lose some of the mobility and speed with it—a magician's worst nightmare.

Hiromi flipped through a few more pages, stopping at another photograph. This one was near the back, having been taken recently and displayed an image of Kaito less than a year ago. He was waving at the camera, a wide smile on his face and an arm around his best friend's shoulder. He had clearly been enjoying the fiery blush the action had caused, a thought that amused Hiromi to no end.

And there, barely visible in the semi-close up shot, was the very same scar.

Once again, she'd discovered her son's secret. And once again, she would keep it.

The photo album closed.

'_**I won't ask.'**_

'_**Just come home safe.'**_

--

"I know." Shinichi flipped open his phone, checking the time. Kaito's question had reminded him of the reason he'd chosen this bus instead of the more direct route. They had roughly five minutes until the stop he was waiting for came up. He hoped she was ready to catch this bus, when he'd called earlier she said she would need some time to get ready and gave him an approximate. She'd told him to go on to the mall without her if she missed the bus. "We're meeting someone."

"Ooh?" The kid drew out the word, most likely remembering the phone call earlier. Shinichi sighed, shaking his head in a bemused fashion as he imagined the teasing he'd be subject to once they got home.

A/N: Sorry about the wait, I meant to get this out on/around the 4th of July. But parties and being dragged to a friend's house(twice cut into my writing time and then once I did finish I decided to wait until the weekend. I think I'll start putting a bit of a break in between chapters, ya know, give more people a chance to read and review each one. It'll also give me more incentive to write for my other stories(mainly Masq and FDT) rather than just updating this one(no matter how much I like it…I gotta work on those two…)

Anyways, I hope the chapter was satisfactory. I've noticed it seems to be a little slow…I think once Kai settles in I'll have a time skip…then get the plot(_gasps_ there's a plot!?) rolling.


	5. Chapter Five

"Alright, we've got to get a few things straight." Shinichi glanced past Kaito and out the window, he couldn't see the stop yet, but it was getting pretty close. Even if Ran didn't get on now, he'd have to go over the story with the shrunken teenager anyway, so better sooner than later, "Obviously you can't be Kuroba Kaito since Ran knows a few people from Ekota—"

"And if Aoko found out she'd run right over and turn your house upside down wielding her mop of doom." Kaito waved off the reasoning, half-closing his eyes in a bored yawn "I know, Kudou. I may look like a kid, but I'm not. I'll most likely be your brother or a cousin, or something."

"Cousin." Shinichi watched the scenery closely, the bus was slowing down. He didn't have much time, "Ran's known my family for many years, and she knows that I don't have a brother."

"Cousin then. From your father's side I hope."

"Ye—why?"

Kaito laughed, shrugging his shoulders, "No reason, I just don't want to have to come up with a last name as well."

The sudden jerk of the bus driver stepping on the break, and the hiss of the doors as they folded open ended up cutting off any reply Shinichi would have made. Instead he diverted his attention from the window, looking up the aisle in nervous anticipation. He knew Ran hadn't sounded angry once he talked to her, but he had prior experience with her anger, and it wasn't pretty. She was also the star of the karate team, and even though he had a background in the sport, he knew just how painful her punches were.

As he'd expected a head of black hair appeared over the railing by the door, followed by the girl he knew better than any. A quick glance around told him that there weren't any free seats on the crowded bus, and an idea came to mind. He reached over and picked up an unsuspecting Kaito with little difficulty, ignoring the boy's protests as he placed him on his lap and scooting over to take the now vacant window seat.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing Kudou!?" Kaito struggled against the detective's hold, a little surprised and unnerved by the other's unexpected action. "I'm not 6, you know. Even for a 10 year old this is a little embarrassing!"

"If you were 6 this would be easier. Clam down." He quieted the indignant boy, and it was just in time because Ran spotted them. The girl smiled and waved, heading down the aisle and sitting down in the seat Shinichi had just vacated, "Shini—" She paused, tilting her head as she took in the now quiet boy on his lap, "Who's this, Shinichi?"

"He's the reason I had to leave so quickly last night." Shinichi grinned and scratched his head sheepishly, surprised at how easy it was to lie to his best friend. One would think it would be a little more difficult, even if he left out the ethical issue and only counted the fact that he hadn't practiced much. The fact that it wasn't really a lie, but more of a partial truth probably helped, he did leave the park because of Kaito. "I'd just remembered that I was supposed to pick him up. He's—"

"Kai." Kaito cut in, still glowering from Shinichi's lap. He easily masked the expression, shifting it to a happy smile when he turned his attention to Ran. The girl made a soft 'cute' sound under her breath, before ruffling the kid's messy mop of brown hair, "It's nice to meet you Kai-chan. Are you related to Shinichi?"

"Hai!" Kaito chirped, glancing up at Shinichi—who he had cut off again—and shooting him an evil smirk before it vanished into the innocent, curious, and excited persona he'd had on a second before, "Shinichi-niichan is my cousin"

Shinichi had fallen into stunned silence at the ease with which Kaito slipped into the role of an excitable ten year old. He'd expected some sort of slip ups, some sort of faltering. But no, Kaito had just plunged right in and pulled off an acting job that was really close, if not equal to his mother's. Kudou Yukiko was an accomplished actor, so it was a pretty good compliment for someone who claimed to be an everyday ordinary high schooler. As the boy and Ran fell into an easy conversation (Kaito didn't go beyond acceptable knowledge for a ten year old) Shinichi made a mental note to do a bit of research on Kuroba Kaito, if only to learn exactly who he was going to be working—and living—with for the next foreseeable while.

"Ne Neechan" Kaito tugged at Ran's sleeve.

"What is it Kai-chan?"

"Are you Shin-niichan's girlfriend?"

Shinichi choked on a vehement denial, while Ran just blushed prettily. Her face was a nice cherry red before she managed to find her voice, "N-no…"

Kaito shot a sly look at the sputtering detective above him, blue eyes twinkling with mischief "Really? That's not what Shi—"

Shinichi's hand clamped over Kaito's mouth, muffling the last words. It was too late, Ran had picked up on the meaning and her face was nearing the color of a tomato. Her face was so warm from the blush, he was almost positive he could see a faint wisp of steam. It took a minute for Shinichi to finally find the nerve to clearly voice his denial, "No! She's just a friend!"

Kaito laughed from beneath the detective's hand, tilting his head up and catching Shinichi's eyes. The mischief dancing in them transmitted a message, it was as clear as if the not-child had whispered it in his ear.

'_Payback Kudou, payback.'_

To say the rest of the ride to the mall was spent in awkward silence was an understatement. Both Ran's and Shinichi's blushes would deepen every time one of the surrounding passengers would comment on the "cute" young couple. Every time it happened Kaito would laugh to himself, taking amusement in the detective's discomfort.

--

"That had been really unnecessary, Kuroba."

Kaito glanced at the detective across the table, gave a little half-hearted shrug, and went back to enjoying his ice-cream, "It's what you get for treating me like that. You know full well that I'm not a child."

They were currently taking a break from their shopping trip and Ran had excused herself to go chat with another girl on the other side of the ice-cream parlor—Suzuki Sonoko, if Kaito remembered correctly. Suzuki…the last name sounded slightly familiar. Suzuki…Suzuki…ah! The Black Star! The mention of the jewel brought to mind an image of the black pearl, the one he'd targeted for his next heist. It had looked to be a challenging one too; his current condition really was unfortunate. However, it did have its good points. Just before Ran had left; Kaito had tried to pester a chocolate ice-cream out of the detective but had been refused. After a disapproving look from the black-haired girl and a gentle scolding—apparently Kudou's protests quickly died under Ran's disapproving stare, something that Kaito took note of for future exploitation—he was happily the owner of a nice sized ice-cream cone. The annoyed looks Kudou had been sending him since Ran's departure had only made the treat taste even better.

"Still, that was very dirty. Jeez." The detective let out a resigned sigh, placing his elbow on the table and propping his head up on his palm, "Not only did you embarrass me, but you made me buy you ice-cream."

Kaito merely smiled and shrugged again, waving the frozen treat tauntingly, "I wasn't the one who made you buy it, if you remember."

"Riight." Kudou snorted, rolling his eyes a little at the child's attempt to play innocent, "And the utterly pathetic look you sent Ran had absolutely nothing to do with her reaction."

"I'm so glad you see it my way" That performance had been one of his better, he had to admit. At least his appearance did have advantages; free ice-cream was always a plus in his book. "Why'd you bring her along anyway?"

Kudou glanced at Ran out of the corner of his eye, watching her animated hand motions as she discussed something with her brown-haired friend, "She's my friend for one…I had to apologize for ditching her."

"You already did that on the phone." Kaito pointed out between licks, thinking back to the one sided phone call he'd overheard earlier, "I think you just wanted to use me as an excuse."

"Hey, hey…" Kudou shifted targets, shooting a level stare across the table, "That wasn't the entire reason…"

"Hah! It was the reason!"

His little outburst drew a few funny looks from the other patrons, including Ran and Sonoko. Kaito just gave Ran a cheery grin and a wave before she nodded, satisfied, and turned back to Sonoko.

"How do you do that, anyway?" Kaito paused, taking a moment to process just what the detective had been referring to. He swiveled around in his seat, his head tilting to the side slightly in a questioning motion. The child truly didn't quite know what Kudou was getting at; it wasn't as if he could pick the detective's brain for the antecedent of 'that'. His train of thought took an unexpected stop at that station, mulling over the possibilities that would arise if he could read Kudou's mind, or any mind for that matter. He decided to look into the option—discretely of course—perhaps pester Akako once he got back to his original age. After all, telepathy wasn't that far of a stretch of imagination when you compare it to de-aging roughly seven years. In anycase, since he currently did _not_ possess the ability to read anyone's mind, he was forced to ask the detective to clarify his meaning, "Do what?"

"The acting thing."

"Oh." That. Well, what should he tell him? A magician never did reveal all his secrets, especially not to someone who in reality was his alter-ego's rival. Doubly especially when that rival wanted nothing more than to unmask him and throw him into jail. If he divulged too many of his secrets—mainly his wide vocal range, expertise when it comes to disguise, and his prior experience with a hang-glider—it would invariably point the detective's sharp mind in a direction Kaito—and the Kaitou—wanted to avoid at all costs.

After a moment of deliberation, he opted for the truth. After all, acting wasn't really that incriminating. If he threw in the source, then any magic tricks he played in the future would also be explained. He had avoided his tricks so far, a little wary of pointing Kudou in _that_ direction, but he doubted he'd be able to control himself for the next—month? Year? How long was this episode going to last, anyway? "My father taught me, a long time ago. He always said a good magician needed to be able to fool their audience."

"Your dad was a magician?" Kudou's eyebrow rose the slightest bit, as if in disbelief or slight surprise. After slightly affronted look from Kaito, he shrugged dismissively, unconsciously copying Kaito's earlier motion. Kudou might not have noticed, but the thief did, and he was slightly impressed. Maybe he should try and prod the detective into taking an interest in working on his acting. It would help with undercover work, and get rid of that ridiculously annoying air about him. The one that screamed, "Law Enforcement" to someone—such as himself—who toed the line of the law every day, and who had crossed it countless times before.

Granted, intimidation was sometimes a useful tactic to use against the more weak-willed suspects, but underestimation was far better in Kaito's humble opinion. People slipped up a lot more when they were at ease compared to when they were tense and alert—how else would he get all his information? Nakamori wouldn't think twice about blabbing his plan to harmless amateur magician Kuroba Kaito. But then again, Nakamori wasn't really the best example—there had been at least one time he'd explained the entire security system on television. Honestly, didn't the man have any sense of tact? Of discretion? Not that he was complaining, it made his job easier if somewhat dull.

His thoughts would have probably continued along those lines, with Kaito chewing absently on the dwindling ice-cream cone, if Kudou hadn't finally stopped dwelling on the tidbit he'd just learned and commented on the conclusion his unnaturally sharp—insert mental snort here—detective mind had come up with, "I guess it makes sense with what you said last night."

"Yeah…Every magician needs a good poker face." Kaito grinned at the detective, even as he was letting out a mental sigh. He'd really hoped Kudou had forgotten about that night. It wasn't often Kaito's poker face had failed him as miserably as it had then. He'd lived by his father's expression for so long that he didn't remember how to deal without it. Maybe he couldn't, the thought wasn't new, he often contemplated whether he would be the same person if he completely took it off.

"If that's the case, Kuroba, life must be your performance." The rather serious nature of Kudou's question had caught him off guard, but the magician did not let it show. He continued to survey what was left of his desert as if the question hadn't ruffled him at all. He didn't say anything either—the way Kudou ended the statement had warned him that he wasn't quite finished, merely pausing to observe his reaction. "Just how much of this…" He waved one hand vaguely, referring to the child's cheery attitude, "is real?"

"That, my dear detective, is your job to figure out, no?" Kaito's expression at that moment would have probably been more appropriate were his obscured by the brim of a hat and the gleam of a monocle in the moonlight. He tossed the last bit of his ice-cream cone in the air, catching it effortlessly and finally finishing Kudou's unwilling gift off. Kaito's answer apparently hadn't been what the detective had been looking for, if the frustrated set to his face was any indication.

Kudou decided they'd wasted enough time at that point, calling over to where Ran and Sonoko still stood. They were no longer talking, but quietly watching something across the parlor. Sonoko's expression was decidedly nervous, while Ran's seemed to be a mixture of nerves and worry. "Hey! Are you ready Ran?"

"Just a moment, Shinichi." She whispered something to Sonoko before heading across the parlor. Kudou and Kaito watched as she moved—though Kaito had to completely sit backwards in his seat to see—meeting a young man about halfway. He looked unsteady on his feet while he made his way across the parlor, the hands clutching his abdomen made his destination pretty clear. The bathroom was on their side of the parlor—he was probably sick.

"Are you okay, sir?" Ran reached out to touch his arm, probably intending to shift it around her shoulders so she could help steady him. At the contact the man groaned and tipped over, landing face first on the floor in front of the worried girl. Kudou was on his feet as Ran knelt by the downed man, and was almost to her side when the ashen face looked up at him. Her lips trembled, and both the detective and the thief knew what she was going to say before she did. Kaito reached for the cell phone Kudou had left on the table, dialing the police just as Kudou pulled Ran up from the floor and away from the body.

"Shinichi…" She began, trembling, "Shinichi…He's…dead."

A/N: Hi! Just got home, and I'm about to leave again so I don't have much time to do any last second editing, so if there's any mistakes, I'm apologizing now. Lesse, this chapter has Kaito being more Kaito-y because I really don't want to make him 'emo' as someone put it. So, while the insecurity and stuffs from the last chapter still exists, he's stepped up the acting in more ways than one.

The death in the end wasn't supposed to be there in the original plan, but hey, everyone knows Shinichi is a body magnet. The fact that he wasn't the one shrunk does nothing to change that.

Ack! Being dragged away! Hope you all enjoy it and don't forget to review! Even if it is just telling me that you liked it.


	6. Chapter Six

Somewhere, deep within the bowels of the Tokyo police station, a phone rang in an empty office. The door was open; the occupant had just stepped out for a moment, so the rest of the department could hear the ringing of the phone. A couple junior police officers looked at each other and then at the phone, normally the Inspector's phone was silent. Normal police calls were routed through the secretaries; not many had the number to go directly to Inspector Megure's desk phone. They were either important people, such as his superiors, his family (emergencies only, of course), or other trusted and respected contacts.

The phone rang twice, and one of the officers shrugged and walked in the office to pick it up. With the Inspector out, and it being THE phone, someone had to answer it. If it was something important, and they'd neglected to pick it up the entire department would be in deep trouble with the higher ups.

"Hello? Tokyo Police Department, Inspector Megure's office."

The voice that came over the phone was not quite what he'd been expecting. It wasn't the commanding tones of the chief of police, nor was it the quiet serious voice of one of the many freelance detectives that worked with the homicide unit. Instead it was a higher than normal voice that connected, forming one conclusion in the officer's mind, and the shock accompanying it made him miss the actual content of the message. How had a kid gotten the Inspector's number? He even said just as much, cutting off whatever the child had been saying.

There was a pregnant pause, stunned disbelief on both ends but for different reasons. Finally the mostly calm, if a little annoyed, voice responded, "Does it matter? Someone is dead over here."

After rattling off the majority of the situation, the junior officer scratched his head as he absorbed the information. There hadn't been any similar calls, and the kid had said there were other patrons. If someone really had dropped dead in the middle of an ice-cream parlor, there should have been a least one other call from an _adult_. It stunk of a practical joke, and not a funny one. "Listen kid, hand the phone over to an adult."

The kid lapsed into silence again, only the faint buzz of the continued connection proved that he hadn't hung up. The uncooperative behavior only seemed to prove his guilt to the officer and he set about searching through the messy desk for the caller ID. He'd get the number and then report him to his parents; it wasn't a good idea to pull tricks on the Homicide unit.

Before the kid answered, there was a soft cough from behind him. The officer turned around—phone still to his ear—only to find the portly inspector standing in the doorway, a steaming mug of coffee in one hand, and a half-eaten donut in the other. One black eyebrow rose as he saw the junior officer on his phone, coughing again before asking, "What are you doing?"

"Some kid is on the phone, Inspector. I think it's just a joke."

The inspector's curious expression faded away, leaving behind a grim look as he regarded the officer, "Unless he has a past history of jokes, all such calls should be taken seriously."

Megure strode into the office, setting down the mug and donut and holding out his hand for the phone. With a thoroughly chastised air, the officer handed it over and fled the office. The Inspector spared him a glance, shaking his head a little at the relatively new officer. Children could make calls too, though they usually didn't route directly through to his phone. He put the speaker to his ear, pushing aside a sheet of paper to see the caller ID, "Boy." His mustache twitched as he let out a sigh of air, "Is Kudou-kun there?"

"Yes." There was a little whisper of relief in his voice, as well as something else. "I'll get him."

There was a moments silence, before the high school detective's voice came out of the speaker, "Inspector…"

--

Kaito closed the cell-phone, silently seething about hard-headed police officers. What would the first officer do if some kid's mother was killed and only the child was there to call law enforcement? What then? There would be no adult to transfer it over to.

He shook his head, hopping off the chair and moving across the restaurant to where Kudou was trying to keep the rest of the customers away from the body, and yet stop them from leaving. Luckily there were only two others, not counting Kaito's group and the employee behind the counter. That left three suspects total.

Kaito slipped the phone into his pocket, forgetting for a moment that it wasn't his own, and slid off his seat. Detective work wasn't really his cup of tea; in fact it was the exact opposite of his preferred work. He prided himself on being more observant than other people, but he didn't feel like sticking his nose into the case when he had a fully trained—or not, but Kudou was better suited for the job anyway—detective who was more than willing to do the job for him.

Kaito made a deliberate effort to not look at the still form sprawled on the floor, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he shuffled past. He hated murder, and just seeing a corpse made his skin crawl and the hair bristle on the back of his neck. Kudou didn't seem to be affected; Kaito couldn't help but notice it as the detective stood by the door, watching the gathered people as a hawk would watch its soon to be prey.

"Ne…" Kaito tugged at Kudou's sleeve, drawing the detective's attention toward him, "I called the police. They'll be here in about ten minutes."

Kudou nodded, giving him a faint yet slightly strained smile before ruffling his hair, "Good thinking."

Kaito grimaced, resisting the urge to dislodge the hand. No matter how annoying it was, he'd tolerate it this once, just this once. He crossed his arms in a childish show of indignation, but didn't make any mention of the large hand that still rested on his head, "So…" He turned his attention to the other people in the parlor. Ran was trying to comfort a crying woman in the corner, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Another woman—older than the first, the crying one seemed to be around his real age—stood a little off to the side, a little shaken up but otherwise alright. The worker, a male in his late teens, hovered off to the side of Ran and the first girl. He seemed, hesitant, as if he wanted to approach, but was afraid to. The only one—besides the crying girl—who was really bothered by the entire thing was Sonoko; she'd flipped open her cell phone and had called up one of her friends, jabbering on and on about nothing in particular, as if to distract herself from the unnerving reality that lay forever still on the tile floor. "What are we to do now?"

"Nothing." Kudou's voice was grim as he also took in the scene, "There's nothing we can do now, except wait for the police."

"…I hate waiting…"

If the detective heard him, he made no indication.

--

"Ah! Kudou-kun!"

Shinichi turned around, letting out a faint sigh of relief as he took in the sight before him. He recognized the portly inspector in an instant, grabbing Kaito's hand and tugging him out of the way of the door. The officers that arrived with the inspector took the motion as a cue to move on in, a couple heading to where the body had fallen and a few more crossing the floor to where the suspects were gathered. Inspector Megure hung back, leaving the officers to the primary examination, "I'm glad that you were on the scene. Did you happen to see anything?"

"I wasn't really paying attention, Inspector." The detective had to admit sheepishly, he'd been preoccupied with the not-child that currently hovered somewhere behind him. He still had a firm hold on Kaito's small hand—his own hand had slipped off the boy's head when he'd pulled him to the side—and he could feel a faint tense-ness in the boy's grip. It wasn't surprising; he had just witnessed someone die. Not everyone was as used to seeing corpses as he was, unfortunately. "But I do know that no-one has left the shop or touched the body."

"Saaa," Megure let out a sigh, his mustache quivering, "We'll have to solve this one the old fashion way."

He stepped past the two in the doorway, only then noticing the child that was half-hiding-but-not-really behind the detective, "Oh Kudou-kun, is this the kid I talked to on the phone?"

"Aa…" Shinichi glanced down at Kaito, a little surprised that he hadn't spoken up yet. He ended up deciding that he was either still shaken up over the death or just wary of police in general. "He's my cousin. He happened to be with me and Ran today."

"Right, well…" The inspector sighed and drew himself up, looking away from the two and toward the active scene in the parlor, "Formal introductions will have to wait until later. Are you ready Kudou?"

"Aa…" The Inspector nodded and walked inside, his stride purposeful as he barked some order to the uniformed personnel. One of the officers rose from his half-crouch near the body, holding up the wallet he'd fished from the dead man's jacket in his gloved hand. "We have an ID on the vic, Inspector."

"Ah! Very good!" Shinichi followed Megure in, Kaito trailing behind him. The detective had released his hand, but the not-child seemed pretty determined to stick near him. With a faint sigh Shinichi pointedly ignored the excitement that had started to overtake his sorrow over the entire incident. It wasn't as if he was glad the guy died, but he just couldn't help the thrill a good mystery gave him. It was deep set in his personality, and the source of one of Ran's less dignifying nicknames for him—the deductive maniac.

"According to his driver's license his name is Takaheshi Kuroi, and he is 21 years old." The officer snapped to attention, before quickly bagging the wallet and placing it with other select pieces of evidence. "Cause of death hasn't been determined, but because of statements given by Mouri-san and Suzuki-san, we've narrowed it down to the medium to fast acting poisons—most likely ingested through the mouth."

Shinichi listened to the report with half an ear, pulling out a small notebook and jotting a line of notes down. He hadn't really learned anything except the victim's identity—he'd already guessed the cause of death himself from his initial examination of the body. "How long until you can get the lab to analyze it?"

The officer gave him a weird look, a sort of 'who the heck are you' expression. The guy had to be new if he didn't recognize Kudou Shinichi; he often worked with the homicide unit and Megure specifically asked for him at times. However, with further observation, Shinichi decided that the man was either a really talented rookie or an officer transferred from another department. The subject of his absent scrutiny—obviously he wasn't paying complete attention to his analysis of a police officer, most of his focus was on the current murder—looked to the Inspector, to see whether he should answer the boy's question or not. Megure gave him an annoyed look, it seemed he had some things he had to drill into all the officers who had recently joined his unit, "I would like to know as well."

"Saa…" The officer took the Inspector's words as a go ahead, doing a few calculations in his head, "It really depends on how quickly we can send over a sample. Probably around 20 minutes."

The Inspector made a gruff sound of approval before half turning to Shinichi, "Ah, Kudou-kun, would you like to do an examination before they finish?"

Shinichi shook his head, tapping his pencil against his lip. He was reading over the notes he'd taken, including which were his earlier observations of the body. He already had an idea as to what type of poison killed the man. All he needed were those lab results to confirm his hypothesis.

Depending on the validity of that conclusion, he'd be able to figure out the culprit. As it was, only two of the suspects had any possibility. The question was--which one?

"No, keibu, I think I want to ask the witnesses a few questions instead."

The Inspector nodded and waved the officer back to his work. Afterwards he called one of the others over, one of the men who had been talking with the suspects, and proceeded to start a conversation in low tones. After a moment Megure waved Shinichi over, and the detective normally would have followed without a falter. A small, but firm grip caught his arm, prompting the high-schooler to shift his attention downward and toward the uncharacteristically ghost-like child. Out of sight, out of mind, Shinichi had almost completely forgotten about Kaito's presence. It was weird, he usually was able to keep an eye on everyone when he was in "detective mode" –coined by Ran, obviously—his attention to detail was what allowed him to solve so many difficult cases over his career.

"Kudou…I think I'll go over with the girls."

He didn't respond for a moment, blinking owlishly as he processed the information with the small portion of his brain that wasn't controlling his vital functions, running over every possible method of operation for the case, or keeping half an eye on the cluster of suspects to the far side of the restaurant. When the kid's words did manage to sink in, he noticed the covert glances the former high-schooler kept giving the body—which they would have to pass to reach Megure and the other officer. Shinichi thought he understood, and nodded, turning around and moving on as the hand released his shirt.

--

Kaito watched as the detective joined the police—he couldn't help the faint laugh it brought to his lips. It was weird, to see the detective in action. He'd never gotten a chance before; heck he hadn't even seen the guy in person until maybe a few days ago. He always scoped out potential threats when they popped up, usually about a week before he initiated any further contact, given the time. Obviously that plan hadn't worked very well at all, what with saving Kudou's life and getting his own completely messed up in the process. At least he'd get a chance to learn more about the detective—purely in a professional sense, of course. The more he learned about what made Kudou tick, the better he would be able to formulate any plans for future gem retrieval expeditions—once he got himself unshrunk, that is.

Kaito stuffed his hands into his pockets, turning away from the investigation as it began to fully mobilize, trudging across the fairly large ice-cream parlor until he reached the two girls hovering near the wall. The police had shooed Ran away from the suspects while they gathered statements, and she had proceeded to join the distraught Sonoko. Kaito eyed the slightly frantic brunette, who was waving her cell phone in the air and chattering to Ran, from what he could tell her cell phone died.

"Nee-san"

He decided to go for Sonoko first, she seemed to be the one who needed distraction the most. Crime scenes weren't his favorite places to be, and he was sure he was far more desensitized to the stuff than either of the girls—you see many things while wandering the night streets—and he figured the girls might need an interaction. There wasn't much he could do to help Kudou in the case, so he figured his efforts would be better put to use elsewhere.

Entertaining people was what he did best. He did it every day, at school, on heists, at home…Even now, starting his new phase of life as Kudou Kai, he was putting on a performing act. Might as well do it to keep people at ease. Kaito pulled a silk rose out of nowhere—he always kept a few of his tricks on him, the day at the park had been no different—and handed it to a startled Sonoko, giving her a cheery grin, "Wanna see some tricks, nee-san?"

--

x.x Surprisingly, I'm not dead. Just been having a dry spell of inspiration/lack of motivation. Wasn't quite sure how to end this, or where. I never intended on going through the entirety of the case…but anyway, the next chapter will wrap the case up, and skip ahead a while…we finally get to see what Kaito's gonna do about Kid! Sorta…

Anyways, hope you liked it and I'll see ya when I get the next chappie done…

x.x I hate late night inspiration, but at least it helped me finish this chapter.


	7. Chapter Seven

Three months, and he was no closer to understanding his erstwhile house guest. Three months, and he was no closer to tracking down the two men who would have killed him if it weren't for the aforementioned guest. Three months, and Agasa had no relevant news or breakthroughs with the sample of the virus they'd managed to retain.

It really was true, bad news always came in sets of three—well, lack of good news was more accurate. Shinichi dribbled a soccer ball absently as the thoughts drifted through his mind, a little perturbed as to how calm everything had been despite the lack of good news. Kaito had taken to his new life like a fish to water—though he refused to go through primary school again. As it was he was continuing his high school education via online courses, and he'd conned Shinichi into taking the official tests for him (but only after the detective had quizzed the shrunken teenager on the material, there was no way he'd allow Kaito to use his condition to cheat the system)—it was scary how easy it was to slip into the other's place using only a bit of hair gel.

Ran had been surprisingly accepting of the new kid, coddling him like an aunt would her favorite nephew whenever they were in the same room together. She'd often 'kidnap' him for a trip to the park and some free ice-cream, leaving Shinichi feeling left out, and a little envious (although he'd never admit the last one aloud, even under pain of death).

Last but not least, Kaito had slid almost seamlessly into Shinichi's own life, much to the annoyance and perturbance of the high school detective. There were times when he didn't even realize the child was there, just continuing his own routine of school, crime scenes, and soccer. In retrospect, if people noticed that he was leaving a seemingly ten year old child alone in such a large, empty house for hours on end while he worked the seamlessly endless stream of cases, he could end up in quite a bit of trouble. However, most of his neighbors—minus Agasa, of course—were not even aware of the child living with him, so there wasn't much to worry about. It wasn't as if Shinichi was trying to exclude Kaito from such a large part of his life, the boy expressed no desire to wander around the scenes of countless murders, stating that it was Shinichi's job to be the detective, not his.

The statement had drawn a rather confused look from Officer Takagi, who had been selected as the police's messenger boy for that particular occasion, but in the end was explained away by childish idiosyncrasies. As it was, Kaito had completely missed out on every one of Shinichi's cases except for that first one, way back when in an ice-cream parlor. Come to think of it, the aversion to cases was understandable—being present when a pregnant mother poisons her boyfriend out of spite was not a good way to build up an interest in police work.

"OW!" He was thrown roughly out of his own little world by a sudden impact to his head, it wasn't so much painful as it was surprising. Shinichi rubbed at the slightly stinging location as he glared at the black and white ball rolling innocently to a stop a few feet away—he'd kicked it a little too hard, resulting in it going straight into his chin instead of harmlessly up into the air like he'd intended. A chuckle wafted from the green jungle to his right, causing Shinichi to shift his glare to the tousled brown-haired head that rose just a little above the remnants of his mother's wild garden. "I'd like to see you try it, kid."

The mock growled, slightly annoyed statement drew another laugh, and a dirt smudged face poked through a gap in the outer hedge than surrounded the miniature jungle, "Nah, soccer is more your thing. I'd like to see you take care of these roses though, I swear there are monkeys running around in here."

Kaito's statement was accented by an overly exaggerated wipe of his forehead, feigning more fatigue than he really felt. Shinichi felt his lips spasm slightly as he tried to keep from smiling, mimicking the kid's tone, "Nah, gardening is _your_ thing."

Kaito hadn't had much to do during the first week or so to keep his mind off the recent upheaval of his life, so he'd volunteered to try and whip Kudou Yukiko's old garden into something resembling the ordered, neat plot of land it was before Shinichi's parents decided to go gallivanting around the world. It still resembled a miniature rainforest, but it had come a long way from its years of wild growth, Shinichi had to admit that gardening wasn't something he'd every really gotten interested in. He'd taken to coming out and joining Kaito on nice days when he didn't have a case clamoring for his attention, practicing his soccer while the shrunken teenager worked with the plants. Other than mealtimes, these little outside sessions were really the only time they spent together, what with Shinichi's school and work.

After a couple seconds of shuffling leaves, Kaito's diminutive frame exited through the gap in the hedge, too lazy to find the proper entrance amidst the ruckus of vine-like ivy and weeds, "Ne, Kudou, I'm gonna go into the city for a while."

"Fine." The detective kicked the ball one last time, catching it easily and tucking it under one arm, "Just don't—"

"Talk to, or take anything from strangers." Kaito rolled his eyes, reciting the normal instructions, feigning annoyance. He knew that Shinichi wasn't patronizing him, merely teasing, "I'm not really ten, you know."

"I was going to say 'do drugs', but that works too." The detective chuckled before waving his arm in a shooing motion, "In any case, go on. I think I'll go drop in on Inspector Megure in case you need me for anything."

There was something strange flickering across Kaito's face, before the normal smile dropped into place and the dirt-smudged head bobbed up and down in an understanding nod. Shinichi took note, before eyeing the not-child as Kaito began to make his way back toward the house, gardening tools in hand, "And make sure you wash up too!"

"Yes Mom!" came the laughing response.

Despite the lack of progress, things really weren't all that bad.

--

"Inspector! Inspector!"

"Mm?" Megure looked up from his half-eaten donut, quickly flicking a few stubborn crumbs away from his bushy mustache and placing the pastry down on the napkin. He turned around in his swivel-y chair, noticing a huffing officer standing outside his office, breath uneven as though he'd just run a marathon. He struggled to speak, but the words came out all jumbled and unintelligible.

The inspector sighed, gesturing one arm toward the water dispenser just down the hall, "Relax a little and get a drink. Then you can tell me."

The blue-clad officer nodded mutely, trudging off in the indicated direction. Megure took the break to finish up his donut, wiping the last remaining slivers of the glaze covering when the man returned. He was still breathing hard, but once more capable of speech.

"Well?" The portly inspector prodded, a little interested in what it was that had the other police man tongue-tied.

"The letter was a positive match! It IS the kaitou's writing!"

Megure's face brightened a little, he, along with most of the police force, looked upon Kid as a welcome distraction from the more deadly cases. Getting assigned to 'Bandit watch' was a very welcome assignment among the homicide unit, the thief never hurt anyone, and the stolen goods ended up returned within the next day or two. As it was, Kid had been unusually silent for the past three months, the longest consecutive time since his initial eight year vanishing act. "Go inform Nakamori, and have someone on standby to cal the detectives, should we need them."

The unnamed officer snapped to attention, giving the Inspector a crisp salute before running off to fulfill his orders. Megure chuckled a little on the young man's enthusiasm and stood up, pushing in his chair as she headed toward the door, dropping his napkin off in the trash bin on the way out. He consulted his mental map, before heading off to the unofficial meeting hall for the Kaitou Kid Taskforce. It wasn't all that far away, but the maze-like hallways in the precinct made navigating between departments a pain. About halfway there he was joined by an unnervingly ecstatic Nakamori. The man had been working on the Kaitou Kid cases of roughly eight years before, and had been tackling the recent wave with enthusiasm that bordered on obsession. Many believed he _was_ unusually obsessed with the overly flamboyant thief, but whether or not didn't really matter. The man was the reigning expert when it came to the Kid.

Without a word the two entered the large conference room, heading to the table that currently housed the sealed letter with Kid's distinctive scrawl. About the table milled one or two senior members of the task force that had managed to catch the news, waiting for the official leader (Nakamori, of course) to open the letter.

Megure stood back as Nakamori slipped on a pair of gloves, picking up the sealed envelope and opening it with delicate precision. Any outsider might think it was silly, handling a piece of paper with such caution, but it _was_ from the kaitou with a predisposition for practical jokes. Many earlier missives had come with some…surprises included. Smoke pellets, packages of colorful confetti, and once even very flimsy, very small paintballs than made a huge mess when they burst, squirting out far more brightly colored pink paint than should have been contained in the small containers. None of the presents were life threatening, but they were humiliating, and no one ever wanted to clean up afterwards.

The current message seemed to be void of any such booby traps, the letter sliding easily out of the paper prison that surrounded it. Nakamori unfolded the square, taking a breath to read it aloud, before nearly choking on the first word. His mouth snapped shut and his eyes narrowed, scanning the distinctive script with an ever tightening jaw line. Megure did not know that a person's skin could produce so many different shades of red, and it was even border lining a sort of red-violet before the other inspector threw the letter down on the table in disgust, "That was not written by Kid!"

Megure's eyebrow arched quizzically, picking up the slightly crumpled paper and smoothing out the wrinkles that had been created by the fall, "While the message might be strange…" He began after a moment, taking the time to scan the words and ponder them (also trying to let Nakamori calm down, but if the coloration was any indication, it wouldn't be anytime soon) "We've already established that the handwriting and caricature on the envelope matches previous heist notes, and the letter inside seems o match the envelope…"

It was standard procedure to run a handwriting analysis the moment a Kid heist arrived, and only once a positive was confirmed would it be brought to the attention of the superior officers of the target area (and Nakamori, of course). It was amazing how many false notes were delivered, especially when there had been a considered gap between publicized heists. People were probably trying to goad the thief into showing himself since it was a well know fact that the kaitou did not like other people doing things in his name.

"It is not." Nakamori repeated stubbornly, jabbing a finger at the note still held in Megure's hands. The homicide Inspector was in charge this time, since the letter had been delivered to his department, "Kid would not do that!"

"What? Retire?" Megure shook his head, "The bandit is a human, and humans get older. As people get older, they get tired of doing what they have always done."

Nakamori echoed the other Inspector's motion; only his movement was much faster and much sharper, driven by the force of his denial, "Not like this. The bastard would either go out quietly like last time, or go out with a bang, something overly flamboyant and utterly humiliating for us." The taller man looked down at the letter in thinly veiled disgust, "That is NOT Kid."

"All evidence says otherwise." Megure picked up the envelope and slid the note back in, "Unless you can find support for your conclusion, I'm pulling my men out of the task force. I'm sure the others will as well."

The leader of the homicide unit tipped his hat to the other man, "Have a good afternoon, Inspector."

The other two officers—having opted to remain silent and out of the way during the debate—quickly followed him out, not willing to be caught in one of Nakamori's infamous rants. They left the ears ringing since the Inspector had such a loud voice, and was well versed in how to make it carry as far and with as much force as humanly possible.

The door swung shut, leaving Nakamori Ginzo, the leader of the soon to be disbanded Kaitou Kid Task Force, to an empty room.

A/N: Sorry! Half a week late, I know…I'm a bad girl x.x I might as well just not give myself deadlines since more often than not I miss 'em anyways.

:O Plot appears! I've finally decided on a semi concrete plot (Maybe now I'll stop zoning out in the middle of class…) and have already written out sketchy versions of later events and the epilogue in my notebook (where most of my stuff is. I don't have much time to write except during school. Not much time on the computer at all, frankly.)

In any case, hope you liked it. Sorry about not having Kai-chan's POV, maybe next chappie? It shouldn't be so hard to write…new plot ideas new drive for me to write.

I did get started reading/watching Full Moon wo Sagashite again…--; if it comes down to it I'll make Takuto or Mitsuki do a cameo just to avoid the plotbunnies. I might have to do that with Danni Phantom too… bleh…evil plotbunnies T-T

See ya'll in another couple weeks! Off to bed now…


	8. Chapter Eight

"Are you absolutely sure?" The voice was cold, flat, and sent the only other occupant of the room to his knees. It rumbled, much like the warning earthquake before an explosion of lethal gas and debris, and sent men of all sizes cowering for cover. One word could decide whether they lived or died, it all depended on the mood.

"Yes!" The room was brightly lit, but it felt as if it had been colored the deepest black. Countless invisible bloodstains littered the walls, remnants of the poor underlings who had delivered bad news, or agents who had failed on an important mission. They had all been carefully cleaned of course, but to those sent to die, their imagination had long since recreated the scenes. In reality, the office was quite comfortable, respectable, with all the appropriate shelving and appliances that could be found in the office of a CEO. "Our contact managed to get a copy of it—"

The new recruit—fearing for his life, and mentally cursing his superiors for sending him to inform the Leader of the possible disaster that seemed to be looming ahead—scrambled to his feet again, reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out a slightly crumbled, folded, sheet of paper. It was set lightly on the wooden desk before he retreated a good few steps, returning to, if not exactly the same spot, near where he had come from.

The hands that unfolded and smoothed out the purloined note were large, unadorned with any kind of finery despite the Leader's obvious wealth. There simply wasn't any need to burden his hands with such trifles. The photocopied words did not seem to hold the same mysterious quality as the originals, the ink didn't shine, nor was there depth where the careful hand had pressed the pen against the paper, but the message came across just fine.

'_No heist, Nakamori, no riddle for you to figure out, just a friendly heads up. Play time is over, and the prize has been won. Maybe one day I'll step back into this game of cat and mouse, but for now, caio!_

_P.S. be sure to watch your blood pressure, Nakamori-keibu!'_

After reading it silently, he gently placed the piece of stolen police property back on the desk. The underling was sent back a few steps when the baleful gaze returned to him, "Does he have it?"

"We don't know. The last real heist was returned without delay." The recruit managed to grate out, reciting the facts and statements that he'd memorized on the way over, "Snake thinks it is just a ploy to lure us ou—"

"Snake is a fool." The underling was cut off, "A blind man who believes he is chasing a ghost." The chair squeaked as it turned, allowing the nervous man some measure of relief now that the piercing gaze was no longer honed in on him. It was nerve-wracking enough being sent on a (usually) suicidal mission to report to the boss, especially since green rookies were dispensable—which was why the higher ups sent them in their place. Key tapping soon filled up the silence, and lasted until one of the appliances—the printer—started to hum, woken up by a single mouse-click from the computer.

"Get over here."

The order sent the black-clothed man scrambling to obey; ending up in front of the desk as a still warm bunch of newly printed papers were shoved into his hands. The chair still didn't turn around, nor did the rhythmic tapping slow, but instructions were given. "Kuroba Toiichi cannot be alive, but those three people are the most likely to be involved with the present phantom. Locate and bring in one of the indicated people. They are sorted in order of preference. Contact me again when you succeed."

Taking the dismissal as such, the man in black nodded and left the room, letting out a breath of relief when the door closed. He'd fully expected to be killed for delivering the news, as an example for Snake and Wolf should they screw up again and not keep a closer eye on the thief. Getting a new assignment was in some ways worse, because he WOULD be killed should he fail in some way; it was his responsibility alone now.

Fox, the newest recruit of the Pandora Project looked down at the clipped papers in his hands (when had the Leader clipped them? The typing hadn't stopped or slowed). Every two pages was a new profile, complete with picture, and every bit of information gathered on the subject (and considering there WAS two pages worth, it was quite a bit. These three had been under observation for quite a while now, a couple years at least.). He flipped through the pages, burning the names and pictures into his mind, which was just now settling down into 'hunting' mode.

'_Kuroba Kaito'_

'_Kuroba Hiromi'_

'_Konosuke Jii'_

There was no way he'd fail, not with his life on the line.

-

Kaito was really thankful that the drug had only taken off six years. If he'd looked any younger, no amount of posturing and articulation could make it seem ordinary for him to be out on the streets alone. Any younger and he'd draw more than a few odd looks, and odd looks were bad. Odd looks made people remember.

While he'd always looked a bit small for his age, Kaito knew exactly how to move and hold his body to look older and more mature. It was a perk of being able to completely change his body language with minor concentration. Many years of practice had spawned that particular skill (plus a good amount of natural talent, of course) and he had never been so glad for it as he was now—the fact that it saved his hide on more than one heist came in a close second.

However, saving sanity was far more important than hide, and there was only so much Kaito could take of staying in one place (even a place as large and as interesting as Kudou's place. He REALLY liked the library there) and being stuck there because it was too conspicuous would have killed him. There were many different things he did on these little outings—sometimes he wandered over to the Mouri's to visit Ran or prank her father. Other times he ventured to the park to put on a magic show for a group of local kids who hung around there. The girl and two boys—a few years younger than his physical age—were, ironically enough, crazy about detective work. He meant it when he called them crazy, it really was a pity that their thinking was waaay too straightforward to be any challenge for his little tricks—maybe in a few years.

They often badgered him about cases, and joining their little group. Kaito always declined—now if it were a magic club he might have consented, but detective work wasn't really his cup of tea—and sent them off to bother Shinichi. The resulting meeting had been quite hilarious, sending Kaito into fits of uncontrollable laughter when the threesome nearly bowled down the door when Shinichi answered--way too excited to be meeting a real, live, detective.

But today, today he didn't feel like doing either of those. In truth he wanted to check out his own—no, old school, see how everyone was doing. Of course, such a venture was undeniably foolish—many of the kids at school had known him since childhood, although Aoko had been his longest friend, so some sort of disguise was in order.

It was with that thought that he was headed toward his old house—his mother had work today so getting in and out would be easy. Besides, it might be worth his time to grab some of his supplies, just in case. It wasn't like he could just burglarize his home every time he needed to retrieve something, so it would be prudent to find a way to store them at his current place of residence. It wouldn't be too hard; Shinichi wasn't the kind to snoop through someone's belongings. Well, okay, he wouldn't snoop unless that person was a suspect in some sort of case, and as far as Kaito knew, he wasn't.

Kaito paused when he neared the entry to the neighborhood, deciding to head around the back way in case one of the neighbors was home. A small path ran down the back of the row of houses, acting as a border between the fenced in yards and the neighboring row of homes. At the right gate he stopped, digging into his pocket to remove a thin piece of wire, not for the first time thanking his habit of being prepared. He'd had a set of lock picks on him that day at the amusement park—they were one of his tools that he carried around every day; he usually had his card gun too, but had left it behind. He realized that he was lucky Kudou didn't find them yet, but quite glad that he hadn't. Trying to explain a set of lock picks to a detective would not be very fun. Not that he couldn't, of course. He just didn't want to.

The lock on the gate popped open with ease, and the pint-sized thief slipped through the gate with a flash of pride at his skills. Sure it wasn't a world class security system like he was used to, but he hadn't had much practice. It was kinda hard to practice with someone who knew and noticed the telltale scratches made by even the best of lock-pick-ers. The lock on the back door followed the example, giving him free-reign to enter the house. The moment he stepped foot inside a wave of nostalgia and homesickness hit, sending his heart plummeting in his chest as he looked around the empty kitchen. He'd grown up here, and he'd missed it over the last few months. He tried not to dwell on it too much, reminding himself of the reason he'd left. Being home for the first time in a few months…was a mixture of both relief and unending sadness. In a way everything felt right, he was back where he was supposed to be, but in other ways it was all wrong. Everything seemed taller, larger, and it was the unnerving proof he no longer belonged there.

It was with a heavy heart, yet a smiling face that Kaito continued on his way.

-

Kaito never came back out, but about an hour later the door eased open, and what seemed to be a young pre-teen girl closed it gently, making sure the house was locked before setting off back down the path. She muttered to herself as she walked, tugging to free the long blonde hair that had gotten caught beneath the straps of the over-large backpack she was carrying. Surprisingly enough the girl was wearing the exact same clothes that Kaito had been wearing. It was not the most complete of disguises, but the cross-dressing girl didn't have any other clothes that would fit in the Kid's closet of disguises.

Other than the outfit, there wasn't much to link her to the boy that had so recently walked the same path. Small dabs of make-up did wonders to change the features just enough so that they would not immediately draw thoughts of likeness, and managed to keep them from looking obviously disguised. All in all she was pleased with the disguise, the best she could do with the tools available, and decided to put it to the test.

The school day was winding to an end, the courtyard empty and silent—the entire place waiting for the bell to signal the start of the rest of the day. Kaito, or Amaya as (s)he considered him(her)self right now, remembered exactly how hated this part of the school-day was. Time seemed to drag as eyes flickered to the clock, urging the minute hand to go faster to announce the end.

The first sign of the ending tone was the opening of the school doors, the earliest students pushing out of the doors with exuberant enthusiasm and nearly running across the courtyard to freedom. Amaya recognized one or two of them, drawing the conclusion that they had been skipping class, skulking around near the entry waiting for the bell to ring. A glance at her watch confirmed that the bell had only just rung—most teachers held the class a little longer to make a clean break within a minute of the bell's chime to be impossible.

Eventually the more respectable students began to trickle out, the stream growing as more time elapsed and students managed to go to their lockers. Everywhere she saw people she knew, and it hurt just as much, if not more, than visiting the house had been. For the first time she questioned just why she bothered to come, she was just torturing herself. Of course everyone would be doing fine; they weren't the ones who had poison introduced to their system a few months back.

Amaya was jostled out of her thoughts by nearly being shoved out of the way, prompting her to creep out of the increasing stream and toward the edge of the gate. One or two of the students had noticed her, and asked who she was waiting for. She'd given a vague answer, dodging the attention while waiting for her friends to come out. Since she was here, she might as well wait and see them.

The first to emerge was Akako. Amaya had already noticed her coming; the fact that nothing but stupefied looking boys proceeded her was a real obvious warning. She just didn't get it, never had and probably never would, why did Akako even bother with the love compulsion? Drooling love-sick mind-slaves weren't much fun—she'd tried talking to them on a couple occasions and the conversation was horrible. It was always 'Akako this', 'Akako that' and she couldn't see how Akako didn't get bored of hearing about herself all the time.

As the mass of mindless drones passed by, Amaya became aware of movement on Akako's part. The tall, shapely girl was looking in her direction, motioning to her fan-club to continue on as she broke from the crowd. The boy in disguise was starting to get nervous, remembering that Akako had an uncanny perception of things—and because of her background in magic she wouldn't be so adverse to the idea of shrinking thieves.

The thought of magic ground 'her' thoughts to a halt, bringing forward a possible solution to 'her' little problem. If Akako did recognize her, then it would mean that shrinking people was possible within the realm of magic, and maybe she would have a cure to it. If not, then it was just as impossible to the black-witch.

Amaya never did find out, the tall beauty was intercepted by a sharp, achingly familiar "Koizumi!"

Amaya backed away, as Akako turned in a fluid motion, responding with a smooth, "Nakamori…"

The shorter haired girl pushed her way through the crowd, taking a deep breath, her face set in a firm, no nonsense expression that she had inherited from her father, "Don't forget to do your part of the project tonight."

Akako rolled her eyes, tilting her nose up a bit, "Do not worry about it Nakamori. I have no desire to fail."

Aoko nodded, "Good. We're in agreement." she looked around, curious as to what Akako had been heading towards, "Were you talking to someone?"

The taller girl glanced back to where she'd seen the child, but shook her head upon finding the spot empty, "No, I just saw something curious."

-

Shinichi was regretting having gone to the station earlier in the day—walking directly into Nakamori raising a merry hell over the news of Kid's hiatus wasn't quite what he'd signed up for. The rampaging Inspector wasn't quieted until one of the higher ups (from another department, in fact) was called in and threatened disciplinary action should he not quiet down. It worked—kinda, but even then it was only a temporary reprieve much like when a student is reprimanded by the principal. Nakamori had ended up finding other ways to show his displeasure, among which was to pester the daylights out of the unlucky detective (AKA one Kudou Shinichi) to investigate into the matter, and prove to the world that it was indeed a forgery, and that Kaitou Kid would show up sooner or later. Megure had finally rescued the harassed detective (while his last Kid case had been fun, he had no desire to work with the Kaitou-crazed Inspector. It was scary how obsessed the man was.) but then the resulting casework had kept him working far later than he'd planned on.

It was with a sort of guilty pleasure that he placed his hand—at last!—on the door to the house, fumbling in his pockets for the keys. His fingers found the cool metal of the keying, but also bumped into something else—paper. Forgoing the key for the moment, he pulled out the folded note that Megure had managed to give him.

-

_Once the office door shut, Shinichi let out a sigh of relief, rubbing his ears gingerly to clear the ringing from them. He could hear Nakamori though the door—he was really loud—but he seemed to be moving away, so Shinichi hoped that the Inspector had found someone else to harass (he pitied the poor soul, but better someone he didn't know than him). A chuckle sounded from his companion, the orange coated Inspector flicking on the light, "He just can't accept it. He'd devoted most of his life to catching that thief."_

_Shinichi shrugged, looking around the rather large room—it didn't look like anything more than a small office, but the lights had illuminated a couple dozen shelving units throughout the room, stacked with boxes upon boxes filled with paperwork, "That's no reason to make everyone else's life miserable."_

_Megure made a noncommittal grunting noise, having moved towards one of the shelves and removing one of the cardboard boxes. He managed to drop it in front of the detective, opening it and rooting through it, "He most likely won't give up, so you should probably stay a while. Willing to help me look over a couple cases?"_

"_Sure." the detective sat down on the carpeted floor, crossing his long legs into a more comfortable position. There was a couple chairs on the other side of the room, but he preferred being able to spread things out. Because of the lack of tables, his only option was the floor. At long last Megure pulled out a couple smaller boxes, filled with papers and photos and handed them to the detective, "This is all the information compiled on Case #32034, remember? The one you and your friends stumbled on."_

"_Inspector, I stumble on them all the time," blue eyes rolled, and then came the flipping of pages "But I remember this one. Where the poison was on the ice-cream cone?"_

_Megure nodded, tugging at his mustache, "We jailed the girlfriend for it, but I want you to look through it again. Something didn't sit right with me then, and it doesn't now. I'm considering reopening it."_

_The detective nodded, "'kay. It'll give me something to do."_

_As Shinichi settled in for what seemed to be a nice long few hours of deductive thinking, Megure started to head out of the office. He stopped right before leaving, reaching into his coat jacket and pulling out a folded piece of paper, "Take this too. I probably shouldn't be giving you evidence, but it was addressed to you. It was only luck that I was the only one to notice."_

_Shinichi looked up and took the note, stowing it away in his own pocket. If it really was evidence, then having it out in the station would get both himself and Megure in trouble, "I'll look at it later."_

-

It was later now, and now was as good a time as any.

Shinichi unfolded the paper, scanning the carefully sculpted script:

_I really wanted to dance again, meitantei-san. I hope there is a chance in the future._

_And be sure to tell your friend Suzuki-chan that she'd come _this _close _insert little caricature of a mini-Kid holding his fingers about a couple centimeters apart_ to having her mom's jewel swiped. _

_Ja Holmes-san._

Shinichi snorted in amusement, folding the letter up and returning it to his pocket. In truth he was a little disappointed with the Kid's hiatus, he still itched to know just who exactly had been behind the white-clad figure that he'd seen standing on the clock's hands. He'd only run up against the Kid once, and he'd almost cornered the slippery thief. The fact that he'd managed to escape had intrigued the detective, as well as the…well, eccentric flavor to the thief's methods. It had been quite a welcome chase.

Shinichi turned the knob, pushing open the door with an overall feeling of exhausted relief. It was closed quickly behind him, an attempt to keep the cooling autumn air out. The faint thud of the door closing appeared to be some sort of signal, causing a brown-haired head to poke out of one of the rooms, a teasing light dancing in his eyes, "Didja have a good day at work, Mom?"

The detective just waved his hand vaguely at the kid's teasing, too tired to really resist against Kaito's game, "If you call disordered chaos nice, I suppose so."

Kaito laughed, not a chuckle or a giggle, but a full laugh before disappearing back into the room—the kitchen if Shinichi was correct, and he should be since it _was_ his house. A minute or so of rummaging sounds, with Shinichi taking advantage of the time to slip off his shoes, Kaito reappeared with a glass of water in hand and a couple tablets, "Headache?"

The detective nodded, the faint pain had been growing all day and was only now blossoming in the relative calm to something mildly irritating. He gulped down the offered medicine without a second thought, not finding a need to check the dosage—he was pretty sure Kaito had figured out how to count and read directions during his 17-18 years of life, "Thanks."

Kaito shrugged, taking back the glass and returning it to the kitchen, "My own head hurts whenever I even _think_ about Nakamori's yelling."

Shinichi followed the shrunken magician thoughtfully, watching with puzzled eyes as he made quick work of the glass. Just how did Kaito know about Nakamori, anyway? The small boy beat him to the question, however, explaining conversationally that he'd gone to the station a few hours ago, right in the midst of the inspector's violent rampage.

"I could hear him even from the reception area—his voice really carries." Kaito commented with a reminiscent smile, "I figured you were probably busy with whatever had him yelling, so I just came home."

Shinichi flinched a little at his recollection of that noise filled time, sinking into one of the wooden seats at the kitchen table with a sigh, "Busy, yes. But I would have welcomed any escape at that point."

Kaito grinned, padding up beside the detective and poking him in the arm, his voice taking on a slightly taken-aback, slightly incredulous tone, "Kudou Shinichi, slacking off from work?" he tutt-ed, poking him again, "Shame on you Kudou. What had him all riled up, anyway?"

"Kid announced his hiatus." Shinichi responded with very little enthusiasm, show just how much he cared about the news. His eyes were closed, otherwise he would have been able to see the odd expression on his housemate's face, and would have wondered just what the sad, almost pained expression was doing there. As it was, he didn't see it, and Kaito had long since resumed his cheerful air, shrugging dismissively at the news, "So? He'd disappeared before. He'll be back."

The pint-sized magician puttered around the kitchen, throwing together various foodstuffs while humming an upbeat tune to himself. Eventually he returned to the table with a mug of coffee for the detective and a bowl of chocolate ice-cream for himself. Shinichi accepted the coffee gratefully, nursing the hot beverage for a few moments before commenting, "You're quite the little house-wife aren't ya?"

"Don't get used to it. I'm just being nice since you had to deal with Nakamori all day," Kaito gave him a defiant look, muttering around his spoon and letting his ice-cream melt on his tongue, "In anycase, people believed the Kid to be gone last time—I can vaguely remember our dear Inspector throwing a fit around that time as well, although I can't be sure since I had to deal with my father's death."

The magician wilted a little at remembering the time, before shaking his head and taking another spoonful of ice-cream, "Did the notice say anything about leaving for good?"

After thinking about it, the detective shook his head, "No. If anything he was talking about coming back—he just didn't say when."

"My point." Kaito pushed the half-empty, half-full bowl of ice-cream in Shinichi's direction, producing a new spoon out of thin air, "Want some?"

-

Fox hung up the phone, a frown tugging at his lips as he looked down at the papers. The first and primary target wasn't anywhere to be found, and he wasn't very happy about that. He'd staked out the listed address for the boy, but had only seen the mother—the secondary target—come in and leave the house in the two days he'd been watching. The first day he'd reasoned that the boy was sick, but after the second he'd made some discrete inquiries around the school, and had learned that the boy had been withdrawn from Ekota High School about a couple months back.

His records had been transferred to another school, one in another part of the district, practically straddling the Ekota, Beika border. That school had labeled him as doing correspondence, and Fox had been unable to get an address out of them. With an irritated sigh he palmed his face, looking up from his position near the Kuroba residence. The lights in a couple rooms were still on, the night was still young, but once again only the mother resided in the house. He made a resolution to sneak into the house tomorrow after the mother had gone to work and do a preliminary search, perhaps install phone taps while he was at it. It really shouldn't be this hard to track down one teenage kid, especially when the target shouldn't know he was being tracked.

Fox had just gotten off the phone with one of his superiors about the manner, and his current orders were as followed:

Keep posted for another week. If the primary target isn't located, collect the secondary.

Meanwhile, the target's information and picture would be circulated among the other local agents of the Organization, no matter what divisions. Fox hated asking for help, but at this point his status among the living was more important than his pride. Besides, the bosses didn't care so long as the job got done.

A/N: I see trouble brewing for little Kai-chan…and I hope people can see where things are going…Anyone wanna drop a review with their guesses? (insert semi-subtle review pleading) Please? I hope ya'll like where it's going. Masq got such a good response last chapter so I was still in a DC writing mood, thus this monster (4.6k at last count) chappie was spawned.

Until next chapter!

(R&R Please!)


	9. Chapter Nine

It didn't take long to circulate the message throughout the local operatives, but it took a few days for the reply to get back to Wolf, the liaison between the Pandora and the main branches. She raised a delicate eyebrow at the indifferently printed words. Normally she'd just dismiss it as a case of mistaken identity, but she knew the sender and she knew he didn't make many mistakes—he was just too careful for that.

_Target terminated as a witness. See report number GV3402 filed three months, two weeks, and one day ago. –Gin_

Despite the absence of the sender, Wolf clicked her tongue reprovingly; Gin was getting sloppy. She knew he'd received the "untouchable" memo that had been placed in the Kuroba file upon the death of the father years ago. To actually touch an Untouchable…Well, Gin was bold enough to do it, although he _usually_ obeyed the Organization's decrees.

Still, he'd botched up somewhere. The younger agent—what was his name again?—had already gathered sufficient evidence to prove the Kuroba kid's living status. True he hadn't actually been seen yet, but the school records had been updated long after Gin's reported date of "termination" which meant that someone was using the name, even if it wasn't Kuroba himself. The new agent—just what was his name?—was diligently working to confirm the identity, but since it was a correspondence it would only be possible on some mandatory attendance occasion, such as a test.

"Chrissy," The hissed nickname caused one shadowed eye to twitch, eliciting an annoyed huff from the female agent. She folded up the paper nonchalantly, slipping it into her pocket in an easy motion as she turned around, "I have two codenames, Snake. I'm sure you can remember one of them."

The new arrival, Snake, chuckled and backed away from the irate blonde. He was clad as he always was, the heavy black trench coat and hat clearly displaying that he had just come in from an assignment. Wolf rolled her eyes, maybe it was just the spy in her but the organization's chosen garb was anything but inconspicuous. She much preferred her own navy blue suit; it was far easier to slip into a crowd dressed as a well to do American business woman (her fair hair and her gender supporting the deception) than dressed in an outfit that screamed "Suspicious!" to anyone with half a brain. Or to anyone who had watched the recent influx of crime movies, either worked.

She didn't ask about Snake's purpose, the jewel thief loved to torment her whenever she happened to be doing work with Pandora. As it was she should be working with her other division, trying to track down the little deserter, Sherry. Unfortunately, due to Snake's incompetence, he'd lost an important factor in Pandora's operation and forced the boss to reassign her to the current investigation. She understood why they needed her, after all she was the only member to ever see the jewel, but that didn't lessen her irritation. She preferred working with Gin and the others.

"Chrissy…" Snake started to speak again, completely ignoring Wolf's disinterested look, "Any news?"

If it had been anyone else Wolf would have at least told them "yes", even if she would keep the nature of the news to herself. However, since it was the much disliked Snake standing there, his hard, square face set in a sickening cross between anticipation and paranoia, she didn't even bother with that much. She rolled her shoulders in a shrug, dismissing the question with no hesitation that would indicate a falsehood.

Instead of disappointment, a crooked smile flashed at her non-committal action, "There won't be any. That sneaky little thief is trying to lure us into a trap."

Wolf didn't give him a response, taking satisfaction in the fact that she had proved him wrong already. There had been news; she just didn't feel like telling him. Her eyes flashed in contempt when he finally decided to leave her alone—she hated working with Pandora because of that one man. It didn't matter in the end; there was nothing she could do about a direct order from the boss.

She lightly touched the folded square of paper in her pocket, returning her straying mind to the situation at hand. She'd sit on this little tidbit of information for a while, until Fox (that was the name!) came back with his results. A small smile came to her face as she sat down at her desk, pulling out a small black contact book and flipping through the pages. To be truthful, she was almost positive Gin had screwed up someway—there was no way Kuroba Toiichi's son would allow himself to be killed like that.

Her searching finger finally landed on the number she was searching for. There was no name next to it, or any of the others in the small book, but she knew exactly whose voice would be at the other end of the line. She closed the small black book, the number fixed in her memory, and picked up the phone.

A little extra information never hurt anyone.

-

"Your knowledge of makeup is still somewhat odd." Shinichi stated quietly, eliciting an amused snort from the working Kaito. The magician was currently making use of a little step-stool, messing with Shinichi's hair in an attempt to coax it out of its naturally occurring unnatural style. It took quite a bit of effort to force the neat strands into something resembling Kaito's messy mop, not to mention copious amounts of hair gel, "Stage make-up; it's all part and parcel of being a magician. You should know by now that everything I do, I make a point to do well."

The detective shrugged, not meaning anything by the comment beyond an attempt at stating an observation, "I've realized that Kuroba, even though I haven't really seen the extents of the skill. You never need to do much during these sessions."

That one cause Kaito to pause, sneaking a glance at the mirror he'd positioned his work station in front of. The detective was right—it wasn't that he hadn't noticed before, but it wasn't as obvious due to the size difference. The only thing he'd done so far was mess with Shinichi's hair and yet he could only see a few more spots where he'd have to apply a little bit of makeup. It wasn't much, just to sharpen the detective's slightly more rounded features. Hair color, eye color, height (before the incident, obviously) age… "Maybe that was why my plan worked. The blonde one had been far enough away that he figured we were the same person."

Kaito chuckled a little, shaking his head in reminiscence before tugging on a particularly stubborn lock of hair. Shinichi winced at the slight but sudden sting, "Do you ever wish you didn't do that?"

"Nah," Kaito ducked out of the mirror's view, hopping off the step to search out the makeup he used for these sessions. It wasn't difficult to find, he remembered where he'd stored it from the last time he'd had to turn Shinichi into a near carbon copy of himself. It was always in the same place, one of the supplies that he didn't bother to hide from the detective. The rest of his recovered items—wigs, contacts, and other items—he kept carefully hidden under a loose floorboard in the closet of his room.

He stared down at the small jar, seeing it but not really seeing it as he thought back to The Incident. Shinichi had done so much for him since then. He gave Kaito a place to stay that would not keep him in constant contact with his old life—being so close yet so far would have killed him, especially if his friends really did start treating him like a child. Childish he might act, but all of his friends had known it was just that, an act. Shinichi saved him from having to repeat the horrors of elementary school, refusing to even consider the idea. Screw keeping up appearances, apparently unleashing a prankster with 17 years of experience and knowledge on an unprepared primary school teacher was out of the question. Kaito had nearly fallen over laughing when the detective explained that bit of logic although he had to admit that Shinichi had hit the nail on the head.

Kaito noticed it every now and then, just how much the other teenager had done for him. He wondered sometimes, would it have been the same way for the detective if Kaito hadn't spotted him that day?

'_Probably not' _came the unbidden thought, winding its way about his mind as he moved back toward his patient victim, _'After all, he wouldn't have known me if this never happened.'_

When he stepped back near Shinichi, he found the elder half turned in the chair, thoughtful blue eyes watching him approach. "Something the matter?" he asked Kaito.

"Nope. Just thinking about stuff." at Shinichi's questioning gaze he grinned and wagged his finger, "Uh uh. Turn around so I can finish, Tantei-san."

With a roll of his eyes the detective complied, giving the magician room to work. The rest of the session passed in silence, and it lasted until Kaito was nearly finished. At length he stopped his attentions to Shinichi's disguise, steeling himself before breathing quietly in the detective's ear, "Thanks"

-

It was some time later that Shinichi found himself leaving the school, progress report in hand and in an overall good mood. The overly long delay had been caused by the school's repeated attempts to convince him into physically attending the school for regular classes. He always declined, obviously. It didn't matter that "Kaito" would be valedictorian if he kept up his grades, there was no way the detective would drop out of his own school to attend another one.

The entire excursion hadn't taken too long—the detective had left about two hours after normal school let out, and it was currently one more hour on top of that. But still, the sun was closer to evening than noon, lowering the temperature from its former comfortable level toward the chill that autumn was known for. It wasn't uncomfortable; indeed Shinichi rather liked the crisp, cool air against his skin. He'd long since shed his jacket, the black article of clothing was hung over his shoulder in a manner that fit Kaito's casual stance better than Shinichi's formal one. It was odd, being without his blazer and tie, but the fact of the matter was that he wasn't supposed to be Shinichi right now, and Kaito was far less formal about these things.

He sighed and stretched his arms over his head, glad to be out of the stuffy school. He'd only been stuck there for an hour or so, but considering the circumstances it had been just a tad bit too long. He had only needed to get in, get the report card, and then leave but the principal hadn't agreed with his little plan. Ah well, at least he'd managed to fabricate an excuse to leave, the man hadn't seemed keen on letting up anytime soon.

He strolled on down the sidewalk, contemplating whether to walk home or take the bus. On one hand it would be rather awkward if he ran into anyone who knew Kaito, but on the other hand it was a nice day and during the afternoons the mass transit got quite crowded. He mulled it over as the sign loomed ever closer, before finally making a decision and bypassing it all together. It wasn't like the exercise would hurt him and it wasn't like he was in the Ekota district. Kaito had admitted that he didn't know many people in Beika, and had hardly ever visited so the possibility of meeting one of them was slim to none.

He moved to the edge of the sidewalk and glanced both ways, taking the opportunity to make his way across the street and join up with the milling afternoon crowds. Unnoticed among the other pedestrians, another young man began to weave through the people, following behind at a safe distance.

It didn't take long for the detective to notice the tail. The streets began to steadily empty as he moved away from the busier central areas and towards the residential ones, allowing him to catch a few glimpses of the black coat and hat when he turned to check nearby signs. A vague feeling of uneasiness settled in his gut during those moments, his photographic memory drawing up vivid images of the black coats, black hats, blonde hair and sunglasses that still remained clear in his mind. He squashed it, chalking it up to coincidence. After so long there was little chance that those two would show up again. It was probably just someone wearing similar attire, although why they'd want to wear such heavy clothes so early in autumn was foreign to the detective.

Unfortunately, that happy delusion vanished like the wind when, no matter which obscure roads he turned down, he could not lose the very same man. It was then that he was forced to assume the worst, that this person wanted Kaito for some reason (since he still retained the disguise) and he also happened to be wearing the same thing _they _had worn. He set his jaw into a grim line doubling his efforts to lose the man. There was no way he'd lead this guy to his home.

-

Fox briefly considered pulling his hair out by the roots to relieve his frustration, growling quietly as he glanced around the empty street. He'd only glanced away for a moment—just a few seconds!—and he could see no sign of his target. At least the incident settled the lingering doubt in his mind; the kid had known he'd been followed. He'd started wondering when his target's route had begun to be a lot more meandering and winding, and now he had his answer. The agent pulled a cell phone out of his coat, flipping it open and letting the automatic dial do the job. As soon as it connected he spoke into the phone.

"I lost him, but it was Kuroba."

The funny thing was that he could imagine the 'cat-that-ate-the-canary' grin on Wolf's face as he said it.

-

Kaito had been all the way upstairs when the detective returned home. His placement might have been the reason he did not hear the hurried slam of the door and the accompanying sigh of relief. He'd been occupying his time by reading through some of Shinichi's father's case files, having discovered the bland looking binders while searching for something to read. The man added a novelistic feel to what would otherwise be an objective retelling of a crime scene and the deductive reasoning involved in the case. It intrigued the thief in more than just a professional sense, more than just a "know thy enemy" type thing. He didn't think Shinichi would mind too much, the detective hadn't put many restrictions on what Kaito could and couldn't get into.

Shinichi's room was off-limits, as were his parents' rooms, but otherwise Kaito was free to roam and poke around wherever he wished. He'd found the case files in the library; some were scattered across he many shelves and others were in the drawers of the computer desk. Much to his amusement he'd found a—quite large—file on Kaitou Kid, and discovered that the elder Kudou and his father had been quite the rivals. He hadn't read too far into it, setting it aside to browse through later at his leisure. He was currently looking through a small binder that had been stored with Kid's file, one on other, less known thieves. Kaito flipped absently through the pages, looking for anything that caught his eye, any that he recognized.

He froze when his eyes traveled across a title page somewhere near the center of the binder, a little disbelieving at the neat script that spelled out the subject, "Snake?!"

Before he could open it further, a sound caught Kaito's attention, the detective finally deciding to come up the stairs looking for him. His voice was originating from somewhere near the stairwell, sounding distant and muffle through the walls. With a sigh Kaito got to his feet, gathering up the scattered binders and stacking them neatly on the desk for late examination. The 1412 folder and the one containing Snake's entry were tucked under his arm as he made his way toward the stairs.

Apparently his footsteps had been noted, the conclusion coming from the cease of Shinichi's calls and the faint sound of the detective heading back down stairs. Luckily, Kaito had an idea as to where the detective was heading. He pushed open the door to the living room, his guess proven correct by the image that greeted him as the wooden portal swung back. A windswept Shinichi stood near the couch, utilizing a towel to try and free his hair from its gel prison. "What's up?"

Shinichi stopped at the question, blue eyes falling to Kaito's own, half-hidden beneath the white towel, "We have a problem."

-

A/N: I'm sure most of you can guess who Wolf is…if not you probably haven't gotten that far into the manga. The idea to use her is credited to one of the reviewers (not saying who, but you know who you are), originally she was just gonna be an OC but this is better. Poor Kaito, he's got Snake on the brain and is about to receive some bad news… is he gonna tell Shinichi about that murderous thief without telling him about Kid? I know, but you all don't n.n

Sorry for taking so long. I've gotten swept up in replaying all of my Zelda games…Still haven't beaten any of 'em yet since I've been skipping from game to game in the middle. I'm almost done with my friend's Phantom Hourglass though…Hate Lineback…I wanna just push him overboard x.o

Please drop a review if you like it! I love reading them. I even respond to some of the longer ones. I hope you all like it now that the plot is starting to show itself. Romance won't really have much of an impact until closer to the end—sorry to those who want it faster but I wanna make it realistic. At this point they aren't really spending time together beyond Kai's garden days, but with the Org rearing its ugly head that should change.


	10. Chapter Ten

A problem, he said. Kaito didn't quite know how to react to the straight forward, yet completely uninformative statement. He waited for the detective to elaborate, head tilted slightly, eyebrows raised, expectant. A problem could be any number of things, ranging in intensity from a bad grade on a test to Ran being in the hospital. Considering Shinichi even came home, Kaito didn't think it was the latter, yet the detective was far too serious to be speaking about something trivial.

Upon seeing Kaito's inquisitive expression the detective sighed, pulling off the towel and tossing it on the empty sofa. It landed in a heap, quivering when the detective plopped down next to it, "I don't know if it's the same people…but I was tailed from the school."

The amused curiosity dried up almost immediately, Kaito's face settling into a neutral disposition as he thought over the implications of the statement. While it was likely that the tail was Aoko or one of his other school friends—or god forbid Hakuba—he doubted the boy would be so serious about that. In the end it only left with two options. He clutched a little tighter to the binder still tucked under his shoulder, rubbing his thumb against the slightly sharp plastic edge. There was only one person who would be looking for him, and who would be dressed in a way that would cause such alarm to the detective. As far as Kaito knew his would-be assassins still believed him to be dead, which only left Snake.

But Snake wouldn't be sniffing around Kuroba Kaito. Not unless…

His blood ran cold.

_What did I do to give it away?_

While his mind worked to go over everything that he could have ever done to jeopardize his secret he remained his outwardly calm appearance. He noticed Shinichi watching too closely, probably because of his continued silence. As a diversion he asked, "Did you lose them?"

An incredulous look, morphing into an affronted scoff—mission accomplished, "Of course. I wouldn't have come home if I didn't."

"I'm just making sure!" Kaito responded, using a laugh to keep up his charade. He couldn't afford to warn Shinichi about Snake until he had some time to come up with an excuse. A believable excuse. Sure he trusted the detective, but Kaito knew him well enough to know that his law-abiding mindset would not hesitate to turn the thief in if he found out. Friends or not, Shinichi had a rather clear cut view of the law.

Even though he understood all that, he couldn't help the faint hurt that began to well up inside him at the thought that he _couldn't_ trust the detective. It was the same situation as with Aoko, although on a different level. He had known Aoko longer, that was true, but Shinichi was the one who he'd grown close to since _it_ happened, the one that allowed him to keep his identity since the entire world saw him as a child.

"Think they were the MiB?"

Shinichi shook his head, "I'm not certain. The dress-style was similar, but the body-type was all wrong." The detective paused, leveling Kaito a thoughtful look, "Is there anyone else who would be looking for you?"

Kaito grimaced, Shinichi had noticed his silence earlier, it was either that or he'd given his unease away on his face. He wouldn't be able to divert the topic again—once the detective sunk his teeth into something, he would never let it go. Let it lie, perhaps, but never gone. Maybe he could edit the truth, "…maybe."

Inwardly he grimaced, running through possible scenarios in his mind. It all ran down to a single statement, what could he tell without compromising himself? "Years ago…" Kaito began, outlining the rest of his story in his mind before continuing, "my father ran afoul a jewel thief. I don't know the details, but he's kept a grudge even after my father's death. I'm not sure if it was him following you, but I figured better warned and wary than ignorant."

The boy glanced down at the binders, still tucked securely under one arm. Shinichi followed his gaze, eyebrow drifting upwards—a questioning motion in an otherwise focused face. Kaito knew that face, the detective was in his element now, questioning, examining, taking the givin facts in an attempt to draw a viable conclusion. The thief sighed and slid one of the binders on to the coffee table, pushing it across the polished wood toward the detective, "I found this in your father's library. There's a file on Snake in there."

Kaito turned around, having said as much as he dared, not wanting to rouse the tiger behind Shinichi's eyes any more than he already had. The faint sound of plastic rubbing against wood told him that the detective had taken the file, and the sound of pages flipping followed him almost to the door.

"Kaito."

The voice stopped him a few steps from the hallway, gleaning a slightly curious 'yes?' in response.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

His back still turned, Kaito suppressed a grimace. He knew the question had been coming, but he wasn't looking forward to it. He kept his voice even, adding in a bit of casual dismissal to the tone, "I just never thought of it. The guy was more of a nuisance than anything."

It wasn't until he was alone, with a flight of stairs, the floor, and several walls between him and the detective that Kaito allowed himself to worry, gazing out into the darkness that night had cast upon his room. He sat cross-legged on his bed, ignoring the view that the window offered, deliberately ignoring the image of the moon that danced out in the blackened sky. Instead he watched the shadows play across the wall, thrown through the window by the soft illumination the heavenly body offered.

"How…"

It was more of a whisper than a word, a spoken thought. He could not understand what he had done to give away Kuroba Kaito to Snake. It seemed almost impossible that the obsessive thief had finally gotten over his delusion—after it lasting for months Kaito had decided it would never fade away. Not unless hit by something obvious. An obvious mistake on Kid's part.

A mistake he could not remember making.

His thoughts deviated from the reason, traveling the down the path of what ifs to the future. Just what would this development mean for him? For the detective? For his family?

"Mom…" The stray thought hit him like a ton of bricks. No matter who was looking for him—Snake, the MiB, or someone else—there was one place they'd look when all else failed.

True fear welled up inside the former thief, not for himself, but for his mother. He never worried about the enemies' Kid gathered, because he knew that they could not connect Kid the thief to the people he loved. That didn't seem the case anymore. If Snake knew…if Snake realized…

He let out a soft groan of frustration and fell backwards, arms sprawling out on the mattress as he stared up at the dull ceiling. If they knew…his mother, and even Aoko could possibly become targets. It depended on how badly the pursuers wanted to find Kaito. There wouldn't be an easier way to draw him out of hiding than to threaten to hurt those that he loved.

"I'll talk to Mom." Kaito muttered to himself, rolling over on his side to see the shadows again, still dancing in sync to the windblown leaves outside, "Don't worry Dad…I'll try my best to keep her safe."

-

He stood in front of the gates; his bag slung over his shoulder and baseball cap turned half-around on his head, looking out over the large lawn and at the house that stood like a sentinel at the end of the long driveway. Chocolate brown eyes flicked away from the sight, lingering on the metal nameplate next to the mail-slot.

"Kudou, huh?" He rolled the name around, testing it in his distinctive dialect. A small grin found its place, holding barely contained anticipation upon the dark face, "Looks like I've found the right place."

The gate was ajar, recently opened to admit someone or other, so the visitor found no qualms in pushing it open far enough for him to pass through comfortably. He closed it thoughtfully behind him, sauntering down the path and taking in the surrounding landscape. For the most part it was pretty well maintained—something that seemed slightly odd for a person of Kudou's profile. With the amount of cases that he'd reportedly solved, along with school-work he should not have to time to regularly upkeep such a large lawn. Of course, having a gardener would throw his entire deduction out the window, but it just wouldn't mesh with what he'd heard and learned about the high school detective.

Pondering the state of the grounds proved a mild distraction, sufficient to keep him entertained until he reached the front door. As with the gate, the youth found the door ajar once more, dark eyebrows shooting up into the similarly shaded bangs as he took in the development. It was very, very odd. Out of place. A detective, one well acquainted with the nuances of burglary and plunder knew better than to just leave both the gate and the door open for any to enter. Leaving it unlocked was acceptable, especially when someone was home—but leaving them both open was just foolishness. It wasn't just opened slightly either, but wide, more than wide enough to admit his tall, but well-built frame without even brushing the edge of the frame.

Taking the obvious invitation, the visitor stepped inside, moving as quietly as he could. A manic grin managed to slip onto his face in anticipation, he was about to meet the person he considered his greatest rival in his trade. In the dim foyer, only lit by the sunlight streaming in through the open door, he could hear voices wafting from one of the adjoining rooms.

The source was easily identified by the artificial yellow light, shining faintly through the space between the bottom of the door and the floor. The occupied room wasn't that far in, and the visitor's ingrained sense of curiosity pushed him even closer in order to hear what was being said. He soon recognized one of the voiceprints—he had heard Kudou Shinichi interviewed countless of times—but the other was completely unfamiliar. "It's too soon." He managed to make out, halting his forward momentum once he could easily make out the words through the door, "If you go today—it's just too soon! They'll notice!"

Kudou's voice. From the sounds of it he was quite rattled over something. A recent event probably, or maybe even a development in a major case the other detective had been working on. He couldn't recall hearing that Kudou was working on anything major, but the general rule of thumb was to keep such cases as under wraps as possible.

"She's my mother Kudou. I need to let her know." The response was quieter, far more controlled than Kudou's voice.

"If they follow you back? If they figure it out? What then?"

"They won't." The confidence and determination was obvious even without seeing the speaker's expression, or his body language (He supposed it was male, sounded closer to male than female at any rate). Having heard enough, and sensing that the argument would wind down soon, the as of yet unnoticed visitor scampered back to the entrance. He didn't need to be accused of snooping before he was able to introduce himself.

It didn't take more than a few minutes for his prediction to come true, the door he'd been hovering by was pulled open and one of the two figures stepped into the foyer. Dark eyebrows vanished into his hairline as he took in the origin of the second voice (he knew Kudou well enough via news articles and TV reports, and this shrimp was not the high school detective.) clearly his image of the confident client clearly not meshing with what his eyes were showing him.

The kid was half-turned, halfway through responding to something Kudou had said when he spotted the waiting dark-skinned, dark haired visitor leaning against the open door frame. Something in his eyes flashed, something akin to wariness, as his words abruptly shifted, speech patterns completely changing as he cut off whatever he had been saying, "Shin-niichan! There's someone at the door for you!"

"Kai—what?" The tall, lean form of the high school detective soon followed, the teenager's height putting him on par with the visitor, maybe even slightly taller (although he wouldn't admit it outside of his brain). Eyes narrowed upon alighting on the dark-figure, the anticipatory grin doing nothing to reassure him, "I recognize you."

"Hattori Heiji." The Osaka dialect rang clear and true in his voice as the dark visitor introduced himself, drawing himself up to his full height and locking gazes with Shinichi, "I'm here to challenge you, Kudou. West versus East."

The two stared at each other, leaving the boy to look uncomfortably between the two. Kudou's eyes shifted away, looking over to the kid before nodding slightly at his questioning look. Heiji frowned, confused before the other detective returned his attention to him, "I refuse. I'm in the middle of another case."

Heiji wasn't the only one dumbfounded by the famously competitive Kudou Shinichi turning down a challenge. The kid's jaw nearly dropped, his eyes widening in surprise. Kudou just shook his head when Heiji nearly demanded he reconsider, or let them use his current case as the challenge.

"This is important Hattori. Another time." He grabbed the boy's hand, "Come on Kai, lets get going."

Heiji grumbled a bit more as the detective ushered him out of the house, standing on the sidewalk as the two headed down to the bus stop. He ran through all that he'd seen and heard, his deductive reasoning running on full speed as he thought back over the entire conversation he'd overheard, along with the resulting aftermath. In the end he couldn't see anything else besides what Kudou had told him—it seemed to be some sort of case, and it involved the kid—Kai he said.

But…something didn't sit right with him. Something about the kid bothered him. The mannerisms that did not match a child that he'd heard through the door, along with the sudden, noticeable shift to unmistakably childish. It reminded him of something, no, of someone.

An idea popped into his head, the proverbial light bulb going on in the attic as hr whipped out his phone. He went into his speed-dial and selected a number, placing the speaker to his ear and waited for it to pick-up.. He didn't wait for the customary "hello" to greet him, or the growled "what do you want" as was more likely the case, instead he popped the question as soon as the line connected.

"What are the chances of there being more like you out there?"

"One out of everyone in the country." An annoyed female voice threw back, "You woke me up to ask that?"

"Ma, ma, calm down" Heiji scratched the back of his head, even though he knew she wasn't here to see it. "I think…I found something you should know about. Can you call Kazuha and tell her I asked if you guys could come up for a few days?"

"Call her yourself."

"Can't, my cute little Ai-chan, I have some research to do."

A/N: Don't kill me…or my fickle muse. While it is the muse's fault, I'm rather attached to the rare bouts of true inspiration I get from it.

I know I promised someone I'd get Ai in there…and I did :D If anyone's confused as to why and they are impatient…review and tell me and I'll explain in the reply. Otherwise…be patient and I'll reveal the answer…hopefully. No idea where the plot'll shift again .-.

Anyways…hope you all liked and can find it in your hearts not to give up on meh and my erratic updating-ness. Leave a comment telling me what you think, or what I can do better(except regular updating…I don't think that'll ever happen). Caio!

R&R please!


	11. Chapter Eleven

Fox snapped the cell phone shut, lips narrowing into a thin line as he thought about the information he'd received and the orders that had gone along with it. Apparently the hunt for Kuroba had turned up nil, it seemed like the kid had only existed for the time needed to take his test and collect the progress report. His target was very good at hiding. Well, good wasn't really the correct term. Excellent maybe. He'd have to be to hide from the Organization's contacts and sources that flowed like a spider-web throughout the country.

As it was, he only had a couple more days until his secondary orders came into effect. Until then the spynetwork would continue tracking down the teenager. If they didn't find him…well…He'd have to move on to plan B.

--

Ten minutes. Ten minutes was how long it had taken for Kuroba Kaito to forget Shinichi's warning against meeting with his mother. Luckily the woman had been just fine when he stopped by and had taken the meeting (and his appearance) quite well. She'd looked concerned, perhaps even worried when he refused to tell her _why_ she had to be careful, just that it had something to do with his night job.

The shrunken thief had felt marginally better after that, and had managed another four days or so without jumping at shadows. Shinichi had to keep a close eye on the phone, however, because Kaito just _had_ to check in on his mother's safety at least once a day. Shinichi didn't blame him; she was his only family after all. If it had been his parents…well, he wouldn't just be sitting around waiting. He'd be investigating the so-called threat and trying to do his best to eliminate it. Kaito probably would be as well, if he could. The fact of the matter was he couldn't, so Shinichi swore he'd do the best he could in Kaito's place.

At least that's what he'd told Kaito, the last time the two had spent any extended amount of time together.

Ever since that first frantic phone call, to an outside observer the worry seemed to diminish, and eventually faded away when nothing out of the ordinary happened. While there was some truth in the idea that he wasn't quite as agitated as he had been initially, beneath the thin layer of masks existed a sea of churning anxiety, of foreboding, and an unshakable feeling that something was going to happen, and soon. The days dragged on much as usual, if a slight bit busier on Kudou's part. There wasn't a day that Shinichi wasn't called out to preside over some business or another, so, between the teenager's unofficial job and his work from school, Kaito didn't see much of the detective. It was a fact that was quite perplexing, given they lived in the same house.

Now he didn't even have Shinichi to distract him, and had nothing to keep his mind off the little, but very possible chance that Kid's civilian identity had been compromised, either with Snake's little group or the men who were responsible for his little predicament. Either outcome would be bad. Very Bad. It deserved two capital letters.

Kaito shook his head and looked away from the book he'd been trying to read, giving up when his eyes started to shift in and out of focus as his attention wandered from the words on the page, thoughts traveling down the roads they had been, unfortunately, following as of late. With a flick of his wrist the book snapped shut, and the magician reached into his pocket and withdrew a small, folded cell phone. Agasa had given it to him a few days ago, claiming to have worked out an ingenious something or other that would prevent it from being traced through usual methods. It seemed like it would be a nifty little tool for his night job, but he hadn't been able to pay attention once the professor had started trying to explain the intricacies of the work. Kaito considered himself a pretty decent mechanic, but even he had limits on what he could understand without prior knowledge.

The clock on the phone revealed the time to be nearing seven at night, just as Kaito had expected. Half an hour until his mother was likely to be home and finished with the household chores. Another thirty minutes after that would probably lead to Kudou returning home, which left him with a good chunk of time on his hands. He needed something calming to do. He also needed to get rid of a large bundle of anxiety, and the only way he could see was to think through the facts slowly, rationally, and deliberately. He hated to even think it, but he needed to pull a detective trick.

What was it Shinichi did when he needed to think? Kaito thought back, tossing the small phone up and down in one hand. He remembered the detective sitting in that silly thinking pose of his, probably a rip-off from Sherlock Holmes himself, but there was no way he'd do that.

Without much thought the book he'd been reading joined the phone in the air, and the small magician soon had many other small objects dancing in the circle, bobbing up and down to the rhythm created by nimble hands. Shinichi dribbled the soccer ball, so Kaito juggled. His hands moved on auto-pilot after a while, catching each item as it fell before launching it up to join its fellows again. Okay, now, display the facts and work from there.

Exhibit A: Kuroba Kaito was Kaitou KID. Kaito KID had enemies—Snake.

B: Kaito was "killed" by two unidentified men in black.

Exhibit C: Kudou Shinichi, disguised as Kaito, was tailed a good couple miles before the detective (who had to have _some_ experience in the area) managed to shake him.

Fact D: The tail wore a long black trench coat and a black fedora. No other identifying characteristics.

Very Disturbing Fact E: The tail had been waiting at "Kaito"'s school, on the one day that he'd actually be there.

Conclusion: The man had, without a doubt, been looking for Kaito, and not Shinichi. He'd briefly considered a slight chance of mistaken identity; they would have looked like twins if he were still his regular size, but that hope was thrown out the window because of the place, one where Kudou Shinichi had no reason to be.

The rhythm faltered for a moment until Kaito caught himself, adjusting the speed of his props to account for the slight deviation.

If it had been Snake or his buddies on the prowl, the situation was a little worse than the other option. Snake wanted something from him. He wanted that jewel so badly that he would stop at nothing to get it. Kaito was sure by now that Snake had somehow received his retirement note and the thief would likely decided that he had Pandora. Kaito doubted that the ex-jewel thief would have any qualms using someone's life to try and draw him and the gem out, especially _if_ the man (or his boss) had finally decided that Toichi was dead, and his son was the mostly likely suspect for the revival. If that little fact was true, there were plenty of targets, the people previously connected to Kuroba Kaito would have little bulls-eyes spray painted on their backs. A few questions here, and a few questions there…

The circle quickened.

Mom. Aoko. Hakuba.

The names came unbidden, and with them faces. His usually steady hands were shaking now, the dancing objects still moving but they were no longer on a smooth path, jagged and agitated.

And then there was Akako, Nakamori, and even Jii. Actually, it would be prudent to switch Jii and Hakuba. Jii was closer to Kaito than Hakuba—in both forms—but the detective would be the more visible and the easier targe—

His cell phone slipped out of the reach of searching fingers, falling to the floor with an obnoxiously loud clatter, quite a feat considering it was a covered in soft carpeting. Being jarred out of his head so suddenly left him reeling for a moment, and only honed reflexes were working as the circle shattered. He managed to save most of the airborne items from sharing his phone's fate, the books were quickly set on the nearby desk, along with a pencil, a pad of post-it notes, and other little knickknacks.

He hadn't meant to do that. His hands were still trembling, but he ignored it, reaching down and scooping up the small plastic item. It felt wrong in his grip, but his old one was too risky. He'd been given this one when they'd realized that it wouldn't be wise to use Shinichi's house phone –connections and all that—and Kaito's cell just wasn't _safe._

Damn it all. When did everything change? When did the chance of discovery become more than just an unlikely prospect? It wasn't even the initial incident, the poison and the loss of his friends and his life. He remembered those first weeks, the first months. They hadn't been great—he missed being over four feet tall, he missed his friends, he missed _Kid_—but they hadn't full of the fear, the worry, the inability to do _anything._

The thief slid the phone in his pocket, glancing up at the clock again. Shinichi wasn't back yet. Kaito began to pace the library, searching for a distraction. There was none. He couldn't believe how much he missed school right about now. At least then he had Aoko to distract him—a few words and some skirt flipping or the dropping of Kid's name and she'd be chasing after him like a mad bull, waving her weapon of choice and occasionally getting a few blows in—or he had Akako to watch and speculate, to wonder what her next plan was to snare the elusive phantom thief. After a few moments of thought Hakuba was added to the list of his distractions—the uptight, Holmes-obsessed mystery nut was unbelievably fun to tease. Y'anno, that sounded incredibly familiar, although Shinichi wasn't near as stuffy and…inflexible as the British detective. He missed his friends, but there was no way to see them now, not if he wanted to keep them off the crazy road his life had taken after that one day.

He was getting sick of this library. It with its lonely shelves and large echoing space, with its lack of distraction, its lack of audience. What was a magician when his audience was gone? When the show was over? When the magic was all gone, leaving nothing but shadows?

_Where_ was Kudou when he was needed, anyway? The detective could flit from one side of the city to the other, being dragged to the various crime-scenes by the not-as-competent police. All the crime-solving was supposed to be their job—and they got it done, usually, but Shinichi was just ten-times _faster._ Kaito remembered the one time he actually saw the detective in action—how long ago had it been since that day at the ice cream parlor? It had been _scary_. Impressive as hell, but scary. Terrifying, yet utterly exhilarating. Sometimes he wished he could actually go up against that intensity again, against that power, challenge the detective in a way that surpassed the Clock tower heist—

Like that would happen as long as he remained less than four feet tall and banned from his Kid costume.

Again! Again and again his thoughts returned to not-so-pleasant things. Maybe he could go bug Ran? No, she treated him too much like a cute little boy to be spoiled. Not that the spoiling was a bad thing sometimes, but the thing he wanted was to forget his troubles, not be constantly reminded of them. His other haunt, the park, was also ruled out. It was too late to be finding that group of kids he occasionally hung out with. He liked the Shounen Tantei, really he did. Weird name or not—one of the members was a girl!—real children had a refreshingly cheerful outlook on everything, and they never really took notice of anything non-childish. They just accepted it.

--

"I'm home…" Shinichi mumbled quietly upon entering the house, pushing the front door quietly shut behind him. The warmth of the indoors was almost intoxicating compared to the chill, nippy almost-winter weather it felt like outside. Sometimes he really didn't like fall, it fluctuated between a cool, pleasant temperature and biting freezing cold. He liked summer and winter—at least they were pretty constant. Shinichi shrugged his jacket off and slid it onto the reaching arm of the coat rack, making his way slowly to the kitchen as he always did upon arriving home.

There was something odd about the silence in the house, but it wasn't an unwelcome silence. He was actually glad of the quiet. The only sounds were the opening of the cupboard doors as Shinichi groped for the package of tea he kept around here somewhere. He sighed and gave the tea a baleful look upon discovering it hidden behind some random packages—he preferred coffee if given the choice, but he did want to be able to get to sleep tonight. Tomorrow might be the start of a weekend, but he really didn't want to deal with any more caffeine related sleepless nights than usual.

Once the tea was made he slipped into one of the chairs around the table, thinking back over the past few hours, even the last few days. He still didn't understand how Hattori had managed to hang around Beika for so long—didn't he have school? He kept running into the other detective whenever he was at the police station, which was actually a good thing, come to think of it. Hattori was a good detective for all his apparent competiveness and hasty actions, and was very useful in helping to deal with the increasing number of petty crimes that had been popping up recently. From theft to murder to missing persons, there was always something to help out with at the police station.

…where was Kaito?

The thought hit him like a thrown brick, finally realizing just why the quiet felt so weird. Kaito wasn't here. Usually, even if the boy didn't come down to meet him, he would always respond to the opening and closing of the door with a yelled "Welcome back!" or something with the same meaning but phrased in a far more creative fashion. There'd been no sound except for himself either from upstairs or down, and it was unlikely the boy would have have gone anywhere at this time of night. If Kaito was still his original age and size, then Shinichi might possibly think he'd gone out, but a ten year old wandering alone after dark would likely attract a bit of attention, even if it was of the well-meaning kind. Ever since the unfortunate incident that had caused the whole mess, Kaito had been a stickler about avoiding attention, even to the point of driving himself nearly insane from lack of contact.

Shinichi frowned at that thought, thinking back to that last few times he'd seen the other . He'd seemed pretty tired, worn out, and maybe even a little stir-crazy then, and that was on top of the worrying knowledge that some shady person was looking for him. Kaito seemed to be a social person, so all of the recent isolation probably wasn't doing much for him. The detective cringed briefly, realizing that it'd been mostly his fault that he hadn't been around recently—he'd just been so busy. He hadn't even seen Ran in a while aside from school.

He decided against going into the station again tomorrow, and with that thought Shinichi stood up, taking the empty mug and placing it in the sink to be washed later. His head turned as he left the kitchen, flicking off the light out of habit, glancing up the stairs on the other side of the hall. Usually Kaito could be found in his room, the library, or the garden. Given the fact that it was dark, cold, and autumn the detective ruled out the garden, instead moving quietly up the wooden stairs in search of his housemate.

There was no change in the quiet as he made his way down the hall, heading to the library first. The partially closed door showed that the light was still shining behind the wooden frame, and he pushed it open, eyes automatically going to one of the large cushy arm-chairs that the kid seemed to favor. In the chair closest to the desk he found the curled up form of his target, a pile of books and other objects left haphazardly on the edge of the desk closest to the chair. Kaito was fast asleep, an arm tucked up his head, wild brown hair framing the too-young face. It was getting longer, Shinichi noticed, but then again he hadn't gotten it cut over the months so it made sense.

He stood there for a moment—at least sleeping was a decent reason for the unusual silence—debating on whether to move the sleeping child to his room or leave him here. On one hand, Kaito would probably be indignant if he woke up in the midst of the move—he didn't really like being treated like a kid by someone who knew that he wasn't—but on the other hand if he stayed in that position all night he would probably have back and neck-pains come the morning. On second thought, the complaining tomorrow would be annoying if he left him there, so Shinichi crept across the carpeted floor.

A few moments later had the sleeping form curled up in his arms, and Kaito had shifted once when the detective had first touched him, but after that first contact he'd settled down again. His breathing was just as deep and regular as it was before Shinichi has removed him from the chair, so the detective was feeling a little more confident that he wouldn't wake. The trek from the library to the spare room that Kaito had made his own wasn't that long, and the boy wasn't really as heavy as he looked. Shinichi was somewhat disturbed when he noticed that fact—had he been eating recently? The real disquieting detail was that he couldn't answer that question.

Finally Shinichi let him down, draping the covers over the small form. A resolution came to mind as he saw Kaito snuggle deeper into the warmth provided by the blanket, tomorrow he'd take Kaito somewhere. Somewhere, anywhere; staying cooped up wasn't healthy.

A/N: Done. This chapter wasn't originally in the script, but it just sort of slipped in there. I liked it. Anyways, University is sapping all my creative juices, but at least Math is mind numbing enough to let me write. The end result is this chapter—like it? I hope so.

I think (but don't quote me on it) but Haibara should appear briefly in the next chapter. As will Akako. I won't give up much more, mostly cause I don't want to be tied down to anything specific. I hope ya'll haven't given up on this story yet, it will finish eventually. Question: Anyone think I should change the summary? Just wonderin'

Oh! Does anyone know any decent DC/MK fics that aren't on ? OR are crossovers? I've run out (again!) even after rereading all the ones I've read before. It's very disheartening.

Also! Anyone watch the Movie 12? I loved it! Except for the ten minutes in the end where they let the criminal tell his story. Bleh.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Shinichi was sitting at the table when Kaito came down the next morning, an unusual occurrence that made the sleepy thief pause to make sure he wasn't just seeing things. The sun from outside was bright, and a glance at the clock reassured him that he hadn't just slept through the day and woken up when Shinichi would usually be home. A steaming cup of coffee sat in front of the detective, although judging by the amount left in the mug he'd been down here for a while; he was also halfway through the morning newspaper, turning the page and looking up at the new arrival.

"Morning." The detective greeted once the sleepy theif recovered from his confusion and, taking it all in stride, moved into the kitchen to prepare his own breakfast. He briefly considered taking some coffee for himself, but decided against it, grabbing some milk and cereal and joining the other at the table.

"G'morning." He responded almost automatically, hopping into the chair opposite the detective, "You aren't going in today?"

It was the only explanation he could come up with that would explain the detective's presence. Unless something important happened that warranted a private investigation, such as what happened last weekend, Shinichi usually left early, to pop over to the police station. The detective might as well live there for all the time he spent in the police department. In response to Kaito's query, Shinichi nodded slowly, "Yeah. I realized that I need to take a break sometimes."

An eyebrow rose in response to that, Kaito not even bothering to hide his disbelief at that statement. As if Shinichi would notice such a thing even if someone tied him into a chair and forced the sentiment on him. The detective was far too work oriented, and often forgot about himself—as he'd observed, and heard from Ran when the girl got overly annoyed with Shinichi—apparently he'd even forgotten his own birthday a few years back, a fact that had amused him and had resulted in merciless teasing of the subject for hours on end. He wondered who'd made Shinichi wake up and realize that he was human, and needed other things besides mysteries, murders, and school.

Shinichi returned his disbelief with a half-hearted glare, and the magician just smiled serenely at him. It was amusing to see the detective's cheeks puff out slightly in annoyance, and then deflate once he realized that it was just teasing. Or maybe Shinichi was just playing along this morning, either way it provided him with early morning entertainment.

"So, what'cha going to do on your rare day off?" The question was asked plainly, without an abundance of wide eyes and cuteness that he usually had to slather on whenever talking to someone his original age. It wasn't often any more that he actually got to converse with Shinichi, so even the customary teasing was pushed aside in favor of actual conversation. The detective seemed to think over the question for a moment, "I was thinking of meeting up with Ran later this afternoon…"

At that statement some hope, that Kaito hadn't realized he had held, died. After realizing that Kudou wasn't going into work, he'd considered that maybe he'd be able to spend some time with the detective. He didn't care really what it would be, a board game, maybe watch some TV, or just talk—hell, he'd even play a game of soccer; as long as he was able to do something with someone who acknowledged him as an adult. Sure, there was the Professor next door…but, while Agasa was a nice guy, he seemed a little uncomfortable whenever Kaito was around. Maybe, as a scientist, he had difficulty accepting and believing that shrinking people was possible. To be honest, Kaito didn't really like spending time with him either, if he had the choice—he either tried to fill the silence with pun-based jokes, or would ramble on about whatever technological doohickey he was currently working on.

"But that's a while later yet. I was wondering if you wanted to go anywhere today."

The words barely registered, before the part of Kaito's mind that was always paying attention managed to knock the rest back on track. He immediately perked up, the possibility of a distraction pushing the earlier thoughts out of his mind. _Go._ That meant getting out of the house. With Shinichi! With someone who wouldn't try to hold his hand whenever they had to cross the street, with someone who would actually speak to him without it being filtered through some child-safe section in their brains.

"I'd like to!" was the immediate answer, before he slowed down and thought a little more about his options. Obviously it would have to be someplace where a child would be allowed—he had a cover to maintain, after all—which ruled out one of his initial wishes. He'd been hoping that maybe he'd be able to get to a pool hall; while he wasn't particularly good at the game, he rather missed it. What was the old saying? 'You don't know what you have until it's gone?' Something like that. Anyway, a pool hall was out of the picture, the only local one he knew of that catered to anyone under the age of 18 was Jii's, and he was supposed to be avoiding his old life.

He wondered how the old man was doing; he hadn't seen him since the last heist he'd pulled. He hoped that Jii hadn't taken his disappearance too badly. The thought of the older gentleman believing him dead at the hands of Snake and Co was a thought that haunted Kaito during his first few weeks in this situation. It would have been too much for him to bear, losing both Kaito and Toichi to the same men. Then again, he hadn't heard any news of Kaitou Kid appearing, and Jii would likely don the costume again if he believed Kaito murdered, if only to try and lure out the ones responsible.

Perhaps he could talk Shinichi into that soccer game after all, but Kaito didn't really feel like going to the park. He could do that whenever he wanted to and he kinda wanted to go somewhere people gathered. Movie theater? Nah, there wasn't anything he wanted especially to see—not that he kept up with the newest releases. Besides, the mere suggestion of the idea dragged his mind back to Aoko and their weekly movie nights. He did not need to go there.

"…But I can't really think of anything…"

"Hmm…" Shinichi rested his fingers against his chin—one of his patented thinking poses, although it wasn't the Holmes one—and was quiet for a few moments. At last he looked up, suggesting "What about the arcade? We don't really have any games around the house, so it'd be something new."

Kaito considered it for a moment, resisting the urge to bash his head against the table for not thinking of that option. It was perfect. Plenty of people around, lots of noise so they could talk about almost anything they wanted without being overheard, plus, a teenager taking his younger brother to an arcade wouldn't be out of place at all. Not to mention he enjoyed video games. Sure he would rather be plotting a heist, giving a magic show, or even watching one, but beggars can't be choosers.

"That'd be great." He grinned up at Shinichi, pausing briefly at the satisfied smile that appeared on the detective's face as he closed up the newspaper. The page hadn't changed in the last few minutes, and the detective had seemed unusually interested in whatever was on it. Odd.

"Alright. Let me make some arrangements and then we can go."

"Alright." Kaito mimicked, right down to voice and expression, but only after the detective rose from his seat and placed his mug in the sink—which just so happened to be filling up with dishes rather quickly. The magician followed soon after, placing his by now empty bowl in with the rest of the tableware, making a mental note to transfer them to the dishwasher later that night. He was almost giddy with excitement, even to the point where the uneasy feelings that had been preoccupying his thoughts of late drifted to the background. It was amazing what something to look forward to would do to a person's mood.

_I wish Shinichi was around more often._ The thought filtered through a whirlwind of other threads of consciousness, ghosting its way to the front of his mind. He didn't give it much attention, more focused on trying to take the stairs two at a time as he made his way up to his room to change.

--

"Haibara! I see you've managed to convince Kazuha to let you come up for a bit."

Hattori Heiji resisted the urge to reach down and ruffle his companion's hair; he knew out of previous experience that it would only earn him a glare and a kick in the shins. She might look like a cute little girl, but she was a wolf's in sheep's clothing as far as personality went.

Those cool blue eyes watched him critically for a moment, before thin shoulders rose and fell in a dismissive shrug. Normally it would irk him to no end to be looked down upon so by a child, but he knew better when it came to this girl. It was so difficult to see normally, but he was well aware of the fact that this 'child' was no more a kid than he was.

"Anyway, remember the kid I told you about? He lives here." Heiji continued, gesturing to the large house beyond the black iron fence. They were a little to the side of the main entrance, the position picked so that they would have a large view of the house, without being seen from the front door, or even the front drive.

"Kudou, huh?" The comment was almost like a thought said aloud, "I remember…I actually considered coming here when it first happened."

"Did ya?" He had to push down a bit of jealousy that flared up at that comment. Well, regardless of her considering Kudou, she had indeed come to him, Hattori Heiji, and not that Detective from the East. That had to count for something right?

"Aa…Tokyo was too close. Too dangerous." She chuckled, a dark sound, she didn't seem the least bit amused. "Not like anywhere else is much better. They have a presence almost everywhere."

"Is that so?" The answer was almost automatic, "Anyway, you said that there was one other person like you?"

Ai nodded, attention flicking from the house and focusing on him with an intensity that always made his skin crawl with unease. Her intensity was the one thing that kept the idea of her being a normal child as far from his mind as it was, and even though she was able to act the part at times, he just couldn't consolidate the small, brown haired young woman before him with a regular kid. It was just impossible, no matter how much his eyes tried to tell him so.

"Before my…escape, I was aware of a single use of my drug. A high-schooler, located in Tokyo, who'd run afoul Gin and Vodka. The report indicated that the poison was used because of a police presence caused by the actions of one Kudou Shinichi, which ruled out more…traditional methods. No name was reported for the victim." A faint smile began to spread across her face as she saw Heiji notice the connection. "Yes, that is the only reason why I'm actually willing to consider you might have found him."

"Oi, what does that mean? Don't you trust my skills?" Heiji responded, a little indignant when it came to the bruise to his pride. He'd like to think that she had some confidence in him by now, otherwise what was the point of her bringing her situation to his attention all that time ago? She could have gone anywhere, considering she was able to get to Osaka from Tokyo, and he didn't doubt that she could get some other family or another to take her in, so why come to him if she didn't think he could do the job?

"Not particularly." The answer was bland, almost monotone, but something shown in those ice blue eyes that told the detective that she was teasing him.

"Yeah well, in that case you can—" He cut himself off suddenly, drawing back toward the hedges that ran along the fence in some regions of the yard. A faint hint of concern showed in Ai's eyes, before she noticed what had caused him to fall silent. Thankfully, she knew better than to draw attention, so she drew back behind him, letting Heiji take the reigns as he observed the pair making their way up the long drive. It was Kudou, and the kid, which was as expected since there wasn't supposed to be anyone else living in the house. Not that the kid was listed as being in residence, Heiji had found out that little tidbit with a bit of investigative work on his own, along with the fact that there weren't any records of him anywhere. Officially, he didn't seem to exist, a fact that Heiji considered extremely sloppy. Even Ai had some sort of previous records, and they were pretty good forgeries if he had to admit it. He had no idea how she'd gotten them done, and he didn't really want to ask. Not that he expect her to answer.

The duo was almost to the edge of the drive now, and Heiji noticed for the first time, that the kid seemed almost…older than Ai did. His lips thinned, it was a possible that 'Kai' had been tall for his age then, but…it was just not right. He didn't want to admit that he might have been wrong, that this kid was really just a kid and he'd made a mistake.

He shook it off immediately, right or wrong, there was no harm in finding out. Kudou and the boy turned down the street, heading for the nearby bus-stop. Once they were out of earshot, Haibara looked at him curiously, "Are we following?"

"Yeah."

-Couple Hours Later-

"Hah! I win again!"

"Yeah yeah." Shinichi grumbled, eyeing the machine before him with distaste. Now he remembered why he didn't own any video games. Troublesome things they were, always going in the most obvious direction, which played havoc with his mind because he kept wanting to look further than needed in order to find the answer. Also, his hand-eye coordination wasn't the best—Kaito's was scary.

The boy had taken to the shooting games like a duck to water, although the grip on the 'gun's seemed weird to him. It spoke of previous experience, as did the uncanny accuracy. Shinichi considered himself a good shot, but the weird way the games were set up, trying to judge distances when it really was a picture on a flat screen, kept messing him up. Not so for his under-sized companion judging by the 100% listed under accuracy on the game screen.

"You really aren't very good at these, are you?" Kaito teased good-naturedly, replacing the plastic gun in its holder and looking around curiously for the next challenge. The detective just waved it off, muttering something along the lines of "Don't practice much" which got a laugh in return, "Well, neither do I."

Shinichi declined the invitation to the next game, which seemed to be a two person racing game, content to just stand back and watch as Kaito dug into his pockets, searching for the correct amount of tokens for this one. A girl stopped him, catching the boy's attention, probably asking if she could play with him. Judging by the smile and nod given, Kaito had agreed, a fact that had Shinichi smiling to himself—this had been a good idea.

In such a lively environment, Kaito seemed to blossom. It was as if a lot of tension had been released all at once, not quite gone, but relieved enough that he could return to his usual excited self. The contact with the other kids probably helped with that—even if it wasn't quite the same as having people his own age, at least the children were a nice substitute because he didn't have to act too much for them.

The game started now, the girl slipping into the second player seat just as Kaito was getting into the first. Once the words 'Race Start!' scrolled across the screen, Shinichi looked away, the detective in him taking note of all the other people in the arcade, their positions, and any other identifying features automatically. Most were middle-schoolers, with a few older teenagers huddled around a couple of the fighting games. There was a gaggle of primary school kids near the front, clustered around a Kamen Yaiba game. All in all, it was just what one would expect from a popular arcade in the more respectable sections of the city.

Shinichi glanced down at the watch secured snugly to his wrist, checking the time against what he'd told Ran earlier over the phone. They had about twenty minutes until he had to pick up his friend, just enough time if they left pretty soon. He pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against, hands in his pockets as he approached the game. Luckily, it was already ended; it just had, the 'You Lose' was still taking up one of the screens. A quiet laugh escaped as he took in Kaito's surprised expression, eyes glued to the damning message in front of him. "Come on Kai, it's time to go."

If Kaito heard him, he didn't respond. His mouth was moving, quiet 'I lost?'s sounding over and over again. Shinichi grinned; it had to be a blow to the magician's ego to have lost to a child, especially at a driving game, "Let's go."

"It was a good race, Kudou-kun." came the polite consolations from the little girl in the other chair. She was pretty cute, with tea-brown hair that reminded him a little of Ran's friend Sonoko. She seemed polite, reserved, and well mannered if her behavior was any indication.

"But I lost!" was the whined response, getting a laugh out of both detective and girl. Shinichi shook his head, "Come on, we don't want to be late. You don't want Ran mad at me, do you?"

That seemed to snap Kaito out of his stupor, and Shinichi immediately regretted it once the boy turned calculating, gleaming eyes on him. "I don't know…" He drew out the silence, slipping out of the seat, "I think it'd be pretty fun to watch you running for your life."

"Mean kid." If it had been any other, he would have taken a leaf out of Mouri's book and given the boy a well deserved clout on the head. But as it was, he couldn't bring himself to do it, knowing that he was being intentionally baited. "Come on."

And so, with a wave goodbye to the girl—whose name Shinichi failed to catch—they left.

--

"So. What do you think?" The girl turned her head away from the now empty racing game, looking up into green eyes set in a dark skinned face, half-hidden by a baseball cap.

"He's a good actor."

"Should we tell?"

Calculating blue eyes gleamed, "How well do you trust Kudou Shinichi?"

--

"Soo, Kudou, what surprise for Ran have you been keeping from me all day?" Kaito tilted his head to the side, glancing up at the face of the detective that was purposefully turned away. Shinichi had been keeping quiet about the evening's plans all day, no matter how much he'd been pestered about it. Eventually Kaito had given up, and was only now reattacking the matter because they were already on the bus, enroute to the Mouri detective agency to pick up Shinichi's 'date' for the night. He figured he was going to find out sooner or later—it was just he'd rather it be sooner than later just in case it would end up being something boring that he had to try and escape from.

"Stupid." Shinichi muttered, but there wasn't any venom behind the word, only resigned affection. The detective's shoulders rose and fell with a small sigh, "It isn't for Ran."

"Oh? Then what is the big secret for anyway?"

"Just be patient." Which just so happened to be the same answer he'd gotten to all his other inquiries throughout the day. He let out an annoyed huff; he hated secrets that he didn't know. Keeping his own were just fine and dandy, but if there was even a whiff of the unknown around someone else he just had to find it out. It was probably a side-effect of being of a not-so-law-abiding citizen—when playing a game for both freedom and life; it was _very_ inconvenient to have to factor unexpected surprises into contingency plans. Even though he'd only been a thief for maybe a year at most, and had not been active for almost half of that, the habits were almost impossible to break.

Since his snooping wasn't getting him anywhere, Kaito settled into his seat to sulk while taking care to make it obvious he was refusing to look over at the detective. Shinichi, who was probably pretty damn good at keeping his thoughts to himself even if he was a terrible liar, didn't seem to take any notice of his companion's purposeful snub. He old moved from the disinterested stare when the bus rolled to a stop, doors opening to admit the one passenger at this station. Kaito also looked up upon hearing the familiar voice thanking the bus-driver, moving to vacate the seat to allow Ran to sit next to Shinichi. However, before he could move, a strong hand grabbed his arm. "Don't. It would look weird for a kid to sit by himself when with his guardian. It's either this, or …"

…the detective had a point, unfortunately; if he did try to move Kudou would probably kidnap him and make him sit on his lap again. It hadn't happened in a long time, but he easily remembered the embarrassment and had no wish to go through it again. Even though he was annoyed with the other for being so stubborn with such an unimportant secret—it wasn't like it was life-threatening or anything—it wasn't worth being treated like a five year old just so Shinichi could sit by his 'girlfriend'.

"Shinichi! Kai!" Ran's enthusiastic greeting came soon enough, and the black-haired high school girl slid into the chair in front of the duo, half turned in her seat so she could talk to the two behind her. She didn't seem at all upset that Kai hadn't moved, indeed she was quite pleasant, chatting and asking about the past few weeks.

"Really, I hadn't seen you in so long, and Shinichi hasn't mentioned you, that I actually thought you'd gone home."

Home? Oh right. They'd told Ran that 'Kudou Kai' was staying with Shinichi until his parents could find a stable job and home. Truthfully, Kaito had harbored some hope that this whole situation would just be temporary, short-lived, and that he'd return to normal size once the drug had been processed completely. Even if that hadn't happened, he'd been rather optimistic about Shinichi's chances of finding more about the guys who shrank him in the first place. It wasn't as if the detective was slacking, it's just that there weren't many clues left for him to follow. He'd apparently found quite a few cases that could possibly be linked to the same people, but, there was no proof. No evidence. None. Nada. Zip.

"Kai-kun…?"

Wha? Oh, right. Little kid. "Sorry Ran-neechan, I was just thinking. Mom and Dad haven't settled down yet, and they said it was better to stay with Shinichi-niichan until they do."

"Ooh. What about school then?"

"Shinichi-niichan is tutoring me. He said I'm doing really good!" Add a bit of preening, puff out the chest a bit like so, and bingo, instant proud little boy. As Ran started quizzing him about what he was supposedly 'learning', with Kaito answering automatically without much thought—although he still kept up the proud façade—he was starting to wish Shinichi hadn't picked up Ran. She was a nice girl, but…the day had been going so well.

The end of the ride couldn't come too soon, and it was with great gusto that Kaito hopped off the bus, moving ahead of the two teenagers, but not far enough to make Ran call him back. He glanced around, curious as to where they'd come. It was down-town, in what was considered the theatre district due to the plays and shows to be seen live on stage. His interest was piqued—were they going to a play? It wasn't quite what he wanted to do, but it seemed interesting as long as it wasn't something lovey dovey. He drew the line at Romance movies, so it only made sense to include plays under that rule. He glanced back at Shinichi, who was rooting around in his pocket before pulling out a folded piece of paper—probably directions, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

And see he did. Ten minutes later had Kaito gaping at the sign out front of the theatre they'd ended up at. He spun around, looking up at Shinichi with wide, disbelieving eyes, "Are you serious?!"

Ran had gone ahead to stand in the ticket line, allowing them to speak freely. Shinichi only smiled and nodded, "I figured you might be interested when I saw the ad this morning."

A last glance between sign and detective and Kaito sprang forward, arms wrapped tightly around Shinichi in a grateful hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"I told you the surprise wasn't for Ran."

He almost couldn't believe it. Shinichi had found a magic show. A MAGIC SHOW! Sure, he could probably explain and repeat most of the tricks shown during it, but that wasn't the point. He hadn't seen any magic, or even preformed much magic except for his occasional shows in the park. Magic tricks, illusions, and sleight of hand were his passions, and while he couldn't have an audience of his own, it was just as nice a feeling to be someone else's audience every once in a while. Plus, every show was a learning experience.

He couldn't help a wide, genuine grin even as he released his death grip on the detective. Just in time too, because Ran returned with the tickets. She was surprised at the sudden increase of enthusiasm, but Kaito's cheer was infectious.

And once again, Shinichi congratulated himself on a job well done.

--

"Ma'am, the crystal ball is acting strange." A little hunched over man stood in the open parlor door, dressed in the usual attire of a butler or servant. Grey eyes flickered in his direction, pencil pausing. The sole occupant of the room, a young lady, looked up at the words, a slender hand pushing back stray strands of hair, "Oh?"

"It has activated on its own, Mistress, and the images within are whirling about too fast to be made out."

"Hmm…" She rose gracefully from her chair, leaving behind the history essay she'd been working on, intrigued and a little worried at the crystal's actions. Koizumi Akako, the sole black magic user in Ekoda, made her way through the lower passages of her home. While most people might find the dark, almost gloomy atmosphere uneasy, Akako was rather fond of it. Indeed, much of the lower levels of the mansion were styled after olden castles, the stone walls and torches giving the corridors an eerie and mysterious aura.

The secret door into the inner sanctum—where most of her magical items were kept—opened at a word and a touch, the wall section sliding back to reveal a set of cold, stone stairs, leading down, down into the underground sublevel of her home. The chamber containing her divination equipment was just off to the side of the main atrium, and in she stepped, closing the door behind her and locking it for good measure.

In the center of the room was a stone pedestal, upon which sat a stand made up of four metal snakes. The shining bodies seemed to come alive under the frantic multicolored lights thrown off by the floating sphere above it, the bottom of the globe barely a few centimeters from the snakes' open mouths. She approached it slowly, cautiously—rogue magic was always something to be wary of, even for a witch of Akako's prowess—and placed her hand gently on the top of the smooth glass. She reached with her own magic into the wild power, bringing it to order, "Why have you called me here?"

"Mistress…" The usually strong voice was cracked and uncertain. Akako bade it continue, watching the pictures within its foggy depths, listening as the crystal tried to convey its news.

--

The phone rang.

"Fox here."

Silence.

"Understood."

_Click_.

A/N: Oi…longest chapter to date for this story. Probably one of the quickest too. I'm not sure what caused me to write it, and finish it so soon. Thanksgiving break maybe? I was thinking of holding onto it for another week or so, in hopes for a few more reviews on the last chapter, but it's impossible for me to have a finished chapter and not post it…

See? Ai and Akako! And Heiji…Last chapter was kinda filler-ish, yes, but it was a build up for this chapter, where some plot appears every now and then.

Not much of a response, but it _is_ Thanksgiving, so I figure people were just busy. Big thank yous for those who did review and for the few recs I got. Unfortunately…I've read them all. Ah well, that just means I need to go reread the manga or something.

Question. I have two different options for the epilogue for this story, and I can't decide on which one I like better…would it be okay to post both as 'alternate' endings or do I have to make a choice? I'm leaning toward the alternate endings, but I'm not sure if that would be too confusing.


	13. Unlucky Thirteen

It was late when the show ended, and they dropped off Ran at her house before returning the rest of the way, Shinichi under orders to get 'Kai-chan' to bed soon. Kaito had shot a discrete glare at the detective once he agreed, but there wasn't much venom behind it—he knew his housemate would not dare. It wasn't even that late anyway, eleven o clock at night was nothing compared to 3 am or later bedtimes when he used to prepare for a heist. That was on top of school the next day as well.

Kaito was in a good mood after the magic show, a better mood than he'd been in a long time. He'd been correct, the featured magicians weren't overly talented—it was a given considering the tickets were relatively cheap and they hadn't needed to buy them ahead of time—but he'd completely enjoyed himself. A few of the card-tricks and sleight of hand had only needed a careful look-over before he was easily able to replicate them. He'd even shown off a bit for Ran and the surrounding spectators using a deck of cards and a few other props that he always kept on hand. It was partially habit, partially because he sometimes spontaneously decided to put on a show for the Shounen Tantei. While there were many tricks that could be done using whatever items were on hand, it was always better to have a wide variety, and card tricks were always a favorite.

The adults had oohed and aahed, congratulating him for being so talented, so 'young'. Normally such patronizing would spoil his good mood, but it was attention, and attention was nice. Plus, he could see the grin and the admiration on Shinichi's face, and that was worth more than the others combined. Shinichi was pretty sharp when it came to figuring out the simpler, and even the more complicated tricks, but Kaito's attempts to teach had failed miserably. Ah well, he was a detective after all. A critic, not an artist.

Looking back, he realized just how much the detective had planned out ahead of time. From taking the day off from his unofficial job, to collecting Ran (who was always a willing audience), to finding the final magic show—and it had all been for him. It had been out of the blue, completely unexpected. He hadn't even seen Shinichi at all yesterday, and the day before had been nothing different. Well, wherever the idea came from, Kaito was glad of it.

The affair of returning home hadn't really been much. Upon entering the house, and closing the door that kept the outside world away, Shinichi had looked down at him and asked, "Did you like it?"

The answer had been simple. Completely and utterly simple. "Yes." That had launched into an analysis on the contents of the show, an explanation for a select few of the acts—but only the ones Shinichi had managed to figure out mostly—a magician always kept some secrets—and there were even some attempts to teach the detective some of the simpler tricks. But even such lively discussions had to end, and the detective had retired not too long ago—he still planned on going into the station the next morning and a decent night's sleep was very helpful. Kaito was left alone in the large house, but somehow the despair and loneliness didn't descend as it used too, kept at bay by buoyed spirits.

He'd eventually wandered from the sitting room where he'd talked with Shinichi, into his own room on the second floor. He pulled out most of the props he'd pilfered from his house on his last supply run, deciding it was well past time for him to practice, even if it was simply to prove to himself that he still could. Many of the tricks were easy for him, flawless and smooth, as if he'd never stopped practicing. It was much like riding a bike for him, once learned, it would be a simple matter to pick it up again. Juggling balls that multiplied themselves, silk scarves that never ended, floating pencils—the works. He missed his doves, wishing he could add the birds to his little impromptu performance, but they were still at Mom's house. At least they would be well cared for with her.

The window let in a constant, steady stream of moonlight, removing the need for a light source. It added an extra effect to a few of his tricks, creating mystical patterns against the walls when used in conjunction with the crystal juggling stones his mother had given him for his birthday some years back. He watched the stones glide in their dance, the sparkles along the wall following the motions, of all the tricks he could do, juggling was still his favorite.

A chill caught his attention, along with the faint sound of clapping, as if of applause. Kaito twitched a little, catching the stones and stopping their spin, turning toward the window where he'd heard the sound. There wasn't anything there, just the waxing moon through the window pane, which happened to be cracked open a little. Kaito set the stones to the side, rising out of his sitting position and to his feet. He crossed the distance to the window, glancing out into the dark. Nothing there. With a shrug he pulled the window shut, flicking the lock so it wouldn't happen again. It was possible he'd just forgotten to close it all the way; he'd had it open earlier in the morning, before they'd left.

The clapping was probably just his imagination. He'd gotten himself into a performing mindset, and after he was done he'd just imagined the usual reactions to a performance—applause. At any rate, if he was hearing things, it was probably time to go to sleep. Maybe tomorrow he'd track down the Shounen Tantei and show them some of the tricks he'd just learned today.

It didn't take long to clean up, and his props were now hidden in the closet, right above the loose floorboard that marked the hiding spot of his thiefly accessories. Eventually he flopped down onto the bed, pulling his cellphone out of his pocket and quickly checking it. An eyebrow rose, apparently he'd missed a call from Mom earlier. Ah well, he'd call her back tomorrow, it was a little late now, and he didn't think she had work.

--

Kaito awoke the next morning earlier than usual, but still long after Shinichi had already left. He wandered around the house, doing random chores to pass the time. It was the least he could do in return for his room and board since actually paying rent was out of the question considering he didn't have any income, and couldn't access his bank account. By the time he was done, it was about noon time, and a beautiful, bright sunny day was just beckoning him outside of the house.

Since he'd already had a trip to the park on his agenda he didn't resist the sun's invite for too long, and soon found himself locking the door behind him and leaving the Kudou mansion behind. The park wasn't too far from home, maybe about a ten minute walk if he didn't get distracted by something or other along the way. It was a nice place, wide open spaces surrounded by a ring of trees and connected by paths that ran between the little clearings. Many different attractions were located within the separate 'zones', including, but not limited to a mini, all purpose sports field, walls where one could practice aiming a tennis ball or a soccer ball, playground equipment, and the occasional bench and fountain set up, which was where he was headed now.

Kaito knew that if the Shounen Tantei would be here today—which they would, barring other engagements or the rare occurrence of them actually getting a case—they would be either at the playground or the fountain. The girl, Ayumi, loved playing with the water, and the two boys that hung out with her weren't willing to deny her anything. The fountain was also Kaito's preferred performance spot, the benches allowing the audience to sit, and the path providing ample space for any number of tricks. Even if that certain group of kids wasn't there today, he was pretty confident he'd be able to find some kind of audience—it was just too nice a day for there to be no one else throughout the entire park.

--

"It's such a lovely day, wouldn't you agree?"

It hadn't even been five seconds after the words passed her lips that she could sense the walls go up, the familiar sense dimming. The boy turned towards her, stopping in the formerly merry stroll down the cobbled path.

"Are you talking to me, Onee-san?" The voice was different then she remembered, but then again, so was the form. But, the face was the same, and so were the eyes, along with the faint aura he was unconsciously trying to hide. She was positive she had found the right person, despite the fact that logic told her that it was impossible. Then again, who needed logic when they had magic?

"Where is your mother, Boya?"

"At home." She watched as a bit of wariness crept into the innocent sound, easily mistaken as a normal reaction to a stranger, but she knew better. _Tsk, Kuroba-kun_, she couldn't help but think to herself, _You've got to do better._ Normally a child, when asked such by a stranger, wouldn't stick around, and this boy, hadn't yet moved. A thought came to mind; _Did you miss us, Kuroba-kun?_

It was time for a test.

"Are you so sure, Kaito-kun?" She purposefully lowered her voice at the name, and the response she received was a faint flickering in the half-hidden aura. Such identification spells were quite useful when searching for someone, because only magic-users even knew they existed, and thus knew how to manipulate and hide an aura correctly. Kuroba's was usually such a lovely, deep purple color, with strands of playful white threading throughout the mass.

"My name is Tousei. Are you looking for this Kaito?"

A smile and a nod. If he wanted to play like that, she'd indulge him. She was here on a serious matter, but it wasn't like they didn't have time. He was going to listen to her, even if she had to kidnap him to make him believe it and drop the pretenses. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. There's some rather important news I need to tell him, and maybe get some help with a puzzle I have."

"Is that so?" The boy 'Tousei' tilted his head, "Is he supposed to be here?"

_Really Kaito, you are a bit too curious for your own good. Any cover you might have had was blown by sticking around for so long._

"Mm, yes he is, at least according to my magic." She couldn't help it; she loved the dramatic, adding a flick of her long hair and shifting her posture to exude her usual air of casual omnipotence. It had always freaked Kuroba out before, and if that tiny little twitch was real, it still was now. "Do you like magic, Tousei?"

"Not really…" _Liar._ "But I do like puzzles! Maybe I could help?"

"I suppose you could." There was a pause, just for show, she'd been planning on telling him anyway, "It's a riddle I received in my crystal ball last night."

"_While the dove was away_

_The fox came_

_Searching for the comet's tear._

_Treasure not found_

_Away he then took_

_That which the dove_

_Most valued."_

"…" The face suddenly went blank, all pretenses of childhood dropping. The innocence faded, leaving, without a doubt Kuroba's eyes, that sharp, intelligent stare. She knew it well, even if she didn't see it often because of the goofy Kaito at school. "You had better be joking, Koizumi."

She shook her head, she really wished she was. "No tricks or spells this time, Kuroba-kun. I'm just passing along the message."

Kaito turned away from her sharply, hand diving into his pocket and pulling out a cell phone.

"Can you get away from the station any time soon?"

He waited a moment for the answer. "Meet me at my house whenever you can. Not home, _my_ house, okay?"

At last he closed the phone, craning his neck to look up at Akako, "I really hope it was just a false alarm."

"Unfortunately, it's not." She'd checked the house with a past-seeing spell before coming here. "I'll give you a ride there if you want."

--

What. The. Hell? How could he have not known? And to find out this way? Kaito had stewed over those questions during the ride from the park to his Mom's house. Akako's magic, of all things, had been the one to deliver the news, even if it had been in the form of an annoyingly simple poem that any half-wit could write. He knew better than to discount it, he remembered all too well the last few predictions she'd made. One had heralded the interference of one Kudou Shinichi at the Clock Tower heist, and the other had prophesized his capture at the hands of Hakuba, which had been averted because of Akako's own interference.

Upon arriving at the house he'd almost completely forgotten about his witchy company, taking care of the lock on the door (the back one) with frightening efficiency and commencing a search of the house. Everything looked normal, except for the details. The lights in some of the rooms were still on, and his mother was_ not_ here. She would _never_ leave the lights on like that while she was out, nor would she leave the front door unlocked—a quick inspection of the doorknob had uncovered that little fact. Even if she didn't know that Dad was a thief, he'd probably drilled the behavior into her as a precaution. Just because a thief could pick the lock didn't mean you had to make it easy for them by leaving it unlocked.

It was in the inner rooms that Kaito really discovered some evidence supporting Akako's poem, there were signs of a struggle in the sitting room. The coffee table had been pushed out of place, at an obvious angle to the couch, a splotch of red-brown sitting innocently on the corner of the wooden furniture. The sight, he was almost certain it was blood, created a seething anger behind his blank expression, anger, and a good amount of fear.

He'd immediately tried to call her cell-phone, only to hear it ringing from under the couch, where her purse had been kicked or placed. More evidence to support his theory, and it set the time of the incident some time before 10 at night, because she always turned her phone off at 10, and then placed it and her purse into the closet with the shoes.

"Kuroba-kun?"

Right, he'd almost forgotten Akako was still here. The girl was exiting a side room, a white silk handkerchief in hand, using the cloth as a shield between her fingertips and what seemed to be a small, white note, "I found this in that room, pinned on the painting."

The rec room? By painting she likely meant the large portrait of his father, which just so happened to be the door to Kid's version of the Bat Cave. He took the note, handkerchief and all (Shinichi would probably go ballistic if he got fingerprints on anything that could be considered evidence) and used the cloth to spread apart the folded paper. His blood ran cold as he read the black lettering on the snow white sheet, hurriedly placing it down on the coffee table and whipping out his phone again, "Shinichi? Whatever you do, don't come in the front."

Silence.

"Why? I just found a damned ransom note. Since they left the note, they expected me to come home and find it, which means they are probably watching the front, if not all of the house."

Another few moments as he listened to the Detective.

"Yes I still want you to come over and take a look, but be careful okay? There's a little used path that runs parallel to the main road behind the house, take it, the gate and the back door are unlocked."

A sigh. "Yeah, I'm managing somehow. See you when you get here."

Click. Once again, Kaito hung up the phone, slipping it into his pocket.

Akako stepped forward, "For what it's worth, I apologize Kaito-kun."

"For what? You didn't do anything." Kaito resisted the urge to crumple the small unassuming piece of paper sitting on the table, or possibly even tear it to shreds. How was he supposed to find Pandora—which the culprit was under the assumption that he had—use it to bargain and/or trap the men responsible, and then save his mom? All before the next full moon, which just so happened to be in three days. "If anything I should be thanking you. I wouldn't have noticed for another day or so."

His voice was bitter as he said that last bit, unable to be hidden well because he knew it was true. He wouldn't have noticed. He would have lost one of the few precious days he had to figure out a plan of action.

"Kuroba-kun, I've been thinking…The 'comet's tear' and the moon, plus the image in the crystal was red… Does it have any anything to do with immortality or healing?"

The look on his face, surprised to the point of maskless, must have been answer enough because Akako drew herself away from the table where she had been standing, back straight and shoulders set with that confidence that had been missing ever since they'd dropped the act in the park. She'd been unusually subdued and helpful during the time since, but now it seemed as if something had clicked. The smile that always creeped the thief out, that all-knowing, unnerving smile, just happened to appear again. "Don't fret about the 'tear'."

Okay, now he remembered why he didn't really like spending time with Akako. She was just scarily perceptive, annoyingly mysterious, and had magic. Sleight of hand he understood, illusions he understood, tricking the senses he understood; but her type of magic, the power to manipulate others, to see the future, and who knows what else…he didn't like it. It was too far out of his league, he didn't know what to expect from it—from her. That was another thing, she'd tried to kill him before, she'd tried to turn him into her love-slave before, and yet sometimes she suddenly would decided to be helpful, like now. Or the time when she dressed up as Kid to keep Kaito from falling into Hakuba's trap. He just didn't understand her, and as someone who liked being in control of a situation, the unknowns really unnerved him.

"Why do you care, anyway?" He was wary of her now, no longer blinded by curiosity and later distracted by the issue of his mother's disappearance. Akako never did anything unless there was something in it for her.

She shot him an annoyed look, "Do I need a reason? I was given a warning, and too was too late to act on it. It's a matter of professional pride."

He knew better than to take her words at face value, as hollow sounding and forced as they were then. Akako was good at the mysterious act, but her acting was only above average.

"Anyway." She flicked her black hair behind her, "If you don't find the 'tear' before the meeting, stop by my home. I assume you remember where it is."

Oh he remembered. It was kind of hard to forget when he had what felt like magic-induced knives jabbing through random parts of his body. Then again, the pain had been the only thing keeping him awake at the time…

She didn't wait for a response, apparently having discovered all she could about the predicament and deciding it was time to make her exit. "Remember, Kuroba." were her last words before she left out the back door, there and then gone. Kaito let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, she was actually being cooperative and helpful this time, but she played tap-dance with his nerves.

--

Sometime later, Shinichi arrived on scene. It had taken him a while to get away from the crime he was working on because first, he had to solve the mystery in his head, then drop some clues for the Inspector to lead him to the correct answer, and after had to come up with a believable excuse to get away without having to deal with the messy paperwork that usually occurred whenever a civilian consultant was involved in a case. It wasn't like he could just say he had to go solve a possible kidnapping because that would prompt the police to get involved, which would not be a wise outcome at all if they wanted to keep everything low-key.

He'd even come prepared, stopping by Agasa's to nab a bit of luminol after Kaito had reported the possibility of blood. The test was the first thing he tried upon reaching the Kuroba residence. A dab of the chemical on the affected spot, a quick flick of the light switch, and the corner of the desk was glowing an eerie blue color.

"Well," Shinichi began at last, "There's blood at least, I don't know if it's your mother's without further tests."

"It's alright." Kaito responded, but his voice held a resigned tone to it, "I think I already know what happened."

The boy pulled out a folded square of paper, which Shinichi then took, not bothering with the handkerchief since he'd slipped his gloves on as soon as he'd entered the home. The words on the paper were typed, so a handwriting match was impossible, and there were no other identifying marks on the crisp, spotless piece of paper, "I found a couple of copies hidden around the house." The message read as followed:

_Kuroba,_

_Hand over Pandora or we will be keeping our guest. You must have proof._

"Does it mean anything to you?" He said after a moment, not entirely sure what to make of the details of the message. The main point was clear, 'hand it over, or she dies', but while there was an address underneath the above message, there was no mention of the time of the proposed meeting, or who the author was. The only reason that would be was if they were either planning on making contact again at a later date (unlikely since they had to use such roundabout methods to get Kaito's attention in the first place) or the information was considered common knowledge between both parties.

"Yes. Remember I told you about Snake?" They'd convened in the kitchen, where there was less chance of destroying some type of evidence by accident, and Kaito had stolen one of the chairs at the table, "Well, he thinks I have this Pandora, which is a gemstone that has this weird myth attached to it. It glows red in the moonlight, and during a certain time will cry 'tears of blood' that would make the drinker immortal. I don't know if it's complete nonsense or not, but he wants it and now he took my mom and—"

Shinichi laid his hand on Kaito's shoulder, stopping the ever increasing speed of his words. It had to be hard, talking as if nothing was wrong, knowing that a ruthless, cruel, murderous criminal (he'd read his father's files on the guy) had in his possession a loved one. "Breath and slow down a little. It'll do no good if you start panicking now."

"Right…" Shaky breaths, slowly becoming more stable. Kaito seemed to compose himself right before Shinichi's eyes, the walls and masks going up in order to keep his emotions in check. "Anyway, the proof part refers to the glowing under the moonlight, so between now and Wednesday I need to find a jewel that glows red under the moonlight—"

"Wait a second," Shinichi interrupted again, partially to give Kaito another couple seconds to catch his breath and partially because he wanted to clarify some information. He'd been taking notes throughout the discussion, "How do you know it's Wednesday?"

Quiet.

"It's the Full Moon."

He wouldn't explain any more after that.

--

A/N: Gah, I am starting to get annoyed with this story. It's being so persistent. For the record, this chapter was finished Mon Dec 1, which is only what, 2-3 days after the last chapter was posted? Aiya, it's probably because I've finally gotten into the main continuous plot part and it's all connected and…yeah. Ah well. Not quite as long as the last chapter, but it'll do. As you can see, the story is starting to speed up.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter. I'll try and update next week sometime (the next chapter is already in progress…). I'm torn between hoping this motivation streak continues and wishing it wouldn't, so I can do something else.

Please review and let me know what you think! Oh! Any comments on the new summary?


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Fox made his way up the drive after dark, walking up to the door of the empty home. He made as if he was ringing the doorbell, but instead tried the knob. A small, chilling smile appeared when it didn't budge, _Good. He's been here._

No one had approached the front door all day, except for the girl that lived down the road. She'd been a regular visitor to Kuroba Hiromi since the son's disappearance, but had been ruled out as a disguise after constant tailing. She would come over sometimes to talk with the woman, help out with some of the chores, and then would head home. She'd only rung the bell a few times, and after no response had given up and left. Since the only visitor hadn't tried the door, the only way for the door to be locked would be if someone had snuck in through the back. He'd made certain the back was locked before leaving the scene, which meant someone either had a key, or had picked it.

Honestly, who else would fit the bill? A common thief wouldn't bother to lock the front door when he left.

With a satisfied smile, Fox turned away and made his way down the street, leaving the neighborhood behind. The message had been received; all that was left was to wait.

--

The detective wasn't the only one up until all hours of the night working, nor was he the only one out of the house. After Shinichi dropped Kaito off at the house, the magician had hurried to his room, setting up a dummy in the bed and locking the door for insurance. As soon as he heard the front door close, and saw Shinichi walking down the driveway, Kaito dove into his closet, pulling up the loose floor board as he moved along. He did it carefully, so he could replace it just a seamlessly later. He couldn't just sit back and let Shinichi do all the work, not when he couldn't even tell the truth of Pandora to him. The truth about Snake's involvement.

Hah, the truth was overrated.

Kaito pulled a large cloth out of the backpack, black, just like the pack, and slid it on. If he was going to do anything he needed to stay out of sight. He'd used it before, when casing out a heist, and he'd rescued it from his house some time ago. It had been a simple matter to shorten and pin up the loose, almost poncho-like article of clothing so it fit even on his now smaller frame. He was glad he had, even as he wished he didn't need it. The thief slid the hood over his head, put his arms through the straps on the pack, and pushed the widow open. He eyed the side of the house; no problem at all. Without a sound he slid out the opening, and while clinging to the frame he eased it almost completely shut.

_You can do this,_ he thought, fingers tightening his tenuous hold on the sill. He searched for the confidence he always had during heists. He searched for Kid. And then he let go.

The single moment of free fall seemed to last forever, the air rushing through his hair a pale reminder of nights spent soaring through the cityscape. He could almost feel it, despite the graveness of the situation and what led him to the act, inside him a faint feeling of anticipation and excitement beginning to bubble up.

And then he landed quietly on the grass covered ground, muscle memory acting as an autopilot, positioning his body to absorb the impact and allow him to land on his feet. The black cloak and hood settled around him, fluttering in the air momentarily, the deep black coloring using the night's darkness to hide from sight. His heart was pounding as he made his way over the fence and down the street, sticking to the shadows, his blood almost seemed to be singing, the part of him that he'd kept locked away for the past few months finally being set free.

But now wasn't the time. It wasn't a heist, where he could cut loose and just have fun, even if he had to worry about tiny details such as avoiding Snake's men and escaping from whatever Nakamori cooked up for him. He had a mission. But first he needed something, and that something was in Kid's 'Bat Cave' back at Mom's house.

After a moment of thought he slid off the main road, heading down an alley and toward where he knew an entrance to the old maintenance and sewage tunnels were. He needed a way to get around unseen—what better way than to use the tunnels his father mapped out?

Later, after a long trek through the tunnels and through alleys, dodging police, pedestrians and drunkards alike, Kaito stood once again at the back door to his old home, working at the lock and nudging the door open. It was so empty, so wrong, and he forced himself to ignore it. Ignore it, focus. Skirting about the sitting room, passing into the rec room, and some stretching to reach the catch on the portrait frame, and soon he was staring at the half-open door, looking up at a painting of his father in working clothes. Sometimes he wondered how he'd managed to get it done. An international criminal commissioning a portrait…

And in he moved, carefully stepping around the piles of discarded machinery and tools he'd never bothered to clean up. He knew about roughly where his query was, and the only problem was he was going to need to dig through a stash of utterly random objects, some of which were very likely to blow up the minute he touched them. Really, what was he thinking when he kept putting off the cleaning of this room? It was probably a safety hazard, a health hazard, and a sanity hazard all rolled into one.

There. He reached through the junk and stuff to withdraw a small thin notebook, ignoring the faint _chink_ sounds as the various knickknacks settled to compensate for the missing support, relieved when there wasn't any accompanying explosion. He pulled back from the pile and toward the equally messy desk, upon which was situated a layer of dust. It clung to his cloak, brightening the fabric to a dark grey, much to his annoyance. But it was what happened when a room wasn't used in a long time, perfectly natural, even if seeing it made his heart and head ache.

Kaito sat down on the chair in front of the desk, flipping open to the first page, lists of jewel s ran down the paper, all written with a line through them. He touched the paper lightly, just looking at the handwriting, so neat and precise—_Dad—_before turning to the next page, and then the next and the next, until the crossed out names dwindled to none. So many gems left unchecked, the search left alone for so long. Sometimes he wished he'd discovered it sooner, gotten more done. But, he hadn't even bothered looking for a pattern in his father's heists, didn't think that the partially crossed off list meant anything. He had to hear it from Snake first, from the man who took his father's life, before he noticed the search, and after that he'd only had a month's worth of heists before Tropical land. It was a daunting task for him now, so many likely jewels, and only two nights to check them all. It would be impossible for him to check them all, and the chances were small that he would find Pandora in the ones he could access, but he couldn't just sit around and twiddle his thumbs, putting his trust in Akako of all people. If he didn't find it, fine, then he'd use whatever the method the witch had cooking up. At least he would have tried.

_Mom…_

No, don't think about it. Can't think about it. He scanned the list again, placing checkmarks next to the jewels that were located within this city, two if they were on display and not in a vault somewhere. He tore a spare sheet of paper from the back of the notebook, recopying down the possibilities, pausing every now and then to consult the old, battered computer taking up the other end of the desk. He had to make sure that his information was correct after all, it was at least half a year since he last updated his Dad's old files, things were bound to have changed since then.

--

It was frighteningly easy. So easy, and so horribly wrong. Alarms were child's play to disarm or avoid, cameras either skirted or manipulated. The doors could be wired or picked…There was no challenge, nothing stopping him from just taking the jewel at the end of the road and disappearing without a trace.

Kaito looked down at the gemstone sitting dully in the darkened case—it could be in his hands in seconds if he wanted it to be. He hadn't lost any of his skills, he was half as tall as the last time, but that helped him hide better. This little fact caused him no small amount of unease but he shoved it aside, focusing on his work.

'This is wrong!' His mind was yelling, but he wouldn't let it pass his lips. His hands didn't tremble as he removed his target from the case, fingers carefully covered by overlarge glove, kept secure around his smaller wrist by a looped rubber band. He just stared down at the jewel in hand; his third try tonight, its facets dull in the dimply lit museum hall. He was here without a heist note, without the audience of the police, without his hat and monocle—it just felt so wrong.

Not the time, he shook his head violently, not the time, not the time. Soft footsteps echoed his movements as he moved across the hall, not worrying about the cameras; he'd disabled them before entering the room. There was a window set into the far wall, letting in the rays given off by the moon. It was into this stream of soft white light that he slid the gem, watching for the as of yet unseen red glow that would herald the presence of the legendary Pandora. The many facets of the clear diamond burst into multicolored light, but his heart sank at the absence of that inner red light.

"_You aren't the right one." _Kaito muttered, his voice automatically rising into the sound he used for his night personality. It was still higher, more childish than usual; a side effect caused by not adjusting for the change in his normal pitch, but it would still work if he missed some hidden microphone or camera somewhere. He was careful, hood pulled up and covering his face for much the same reason. Blue eyes glittered from beneath the shadowed edges before closing, pulling the jewel out from under the spotlight. _Next one._

--

Every day dragged on and on for Inspector Nakamori, member of the Theft and Robbery division and former head of the Kaitou Kid task force. Every other petty criminal, every other crime, they felt empty, unimaginative, and Nakamori found himself feeling a little lost. He knew what was wrong; he'd had to go through something similar some eight-nine years before, when a certain thief vanished from his life for the first time.

He would not admit it aloud, but when he first saw the heist note, first saw the thief in the paper, white hat, and suit as if he'd walked out of his memories, he'd had a difficult time keeping in a shout of joy and possibly even a tear or two. Sure things had been a bit iffy for the first heist or two, lacking that imaginative and bold spark that the Inspector so remembered from his prey, but eventually that was worked past and the mask came off, and it was as if he'd traveled back in time. He'd had a chance to pick up where he'd left off, in the pursuit of the thief he'd devoted so many years to chasing, and he'd spent so many years trying to understand.

And now, he was gone again.

'_It always comes back to that damned thief.' _He ground his teeth, wishing he had a cigarette or his pipe. Even a month after receiving that stupid note, he still couldn't stop that thief from popping into his mind. He didn't even have any work today to occupy his attention. Nakamori let out an aggravated sigh and leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back so he could see the window behind his desk. So boring. So empty. Now he just needed a damn smoke.

He was so tempted to just take his lunch break, nip across the street to the convenience store and buy a package, but he knew Aoko would kill him. She'd been a regular mother-hen since the thief vanished, threatening him with her displeasure if he smoked more than a few cigarettes a day. She claimed he was smoking far too much in an attempt to get over the shock of Kid's retirement, something that he'd protested violently. Even so, he was loath to deny his little girl anything, especially since she had that expression on lately, that sad, lonely, almost forlorn expression.

It was that brat's fault. Now, normally Nakamori liked Kaito, even if he considered him too childish at times, but because of recent events he held more than a little anger for the boy. Kaito had up and pulled out of school some time ago, without any word at all, and had made Aoko worried sick. Finally he'd gone and asked Kuroba-san what happened, and she'd given him some vague explanation about visiting relatives and then getting a job while he was there. Hah, like he believed that. He liked Kuroba-san well enough, he'd been close friends with her late husband, and had kept up connections with her after his death, but he'd been annoyed at her for the blatant lie. Although after he'd gotten over his anger (for his daughter's sake, she was the one worrying herself sick over the kid's absence) he'd gotten a little concerned himself. It was highly out of character for the brat to do something like this. If it had been a prank, which would have been in character, it wouldn't have lasted so long.

But he'd kept his concerns to himself, supporting the explanation if only for Aoko's sake. She'd been furious at Kaito after that, but it was more because he hadn't called, hadn't said anything at all about his impromptu absence. The silence persisted to this day, but instead of angry, Aoko's reaction was somewhere between depression and an attempt to move on. She'd throw herself into looking after him, into her school work, and even spent time with her other friends, but then he'd catch her sitting by the window staring at the Kuroba house, or she'd walk up to the door in the morning as if she was going to meet Kaito for their walk to school before catching herself and heading on her way.

'_That brat. If I ever get my hands on him I'm going to strangle him.' _He deserved it for what he was doing to Aoko, and he was in the middle of imagining the scene when there was a knock on the office door. The chair snapped back into the fully upright position as he called gruffly for the person to come in, quickly rearranging the contents of his desk to make it seem as if he'd been doing something. The person who entered was one of his junior officers. This one in particular was good at what he did, and despite his age, would make a decent inspector one of these days. He just needed a bit more confidence, but at least he wasn't arrogant. "What is it Takeshi?"

"Ah, Inspector. I was assigned a rather odd case; I'd really like your opinion on it."

He let out a rough sigh and motioned Takeshi to continue. After the disbanding of the Task Force his subordinates had been surprisingly supportive, and had made a point to bring any weird cases to him. They knew that a mind used to chasing Kid, who was the definition of weird, would get more out of an odd case than the work of a standard run of the mill crook.

Takeshi took the motion as permission to speak, "We received reports last night of about five silent alarms going off in buildings throughout this section of the city." At this he pulled out a folder and extracted a map from it, a red circle drawn over quite a large area, a busy, downtown one, with smaller dots scattered throughout. "They ranged from a couple museums, to private offices and happened about 45 minutes apart. The odd thing is that the alarms that were directly wired to the police station were the only ones that went off. Everything else was expertly avoided or disabled; cameras were cut or tampered with. The security guards weren't even aware of any break-ins until the officer on duty called to ask about the alarm."

Hoo, that _was_ weird. Since the cameras and such showed signs of tampering, that ruled out some freak mass alarm malfunction. Also since whoever broke in showed such skill in dealing with the other, far more complicated alarms it pointed toward the action being on purpose. Nakamori took the break in Takeshi's briefing to leaf through the reports, eyes narrowing in thought as he noticed the similarities in the methods used. It pointed toward being the work of the same person. Letting the silent alarm through nagged at him a little, forming an odd connection in his mind. He could almost liken these break-ins as the opposite of what Kid would do. Silent, out of sight, without all the fanfare the Kid seemed to love. But the silent alarm seemed almost like Kid's heist note…only after and not before.

Eeeh!? "Nothing was taken?"

Takeshi shook his head, "The museums are still doing inventory, but in the immediate vicinity of the alarm, there wasn't anything missing. There were signs of tampering with the display cases, but the items within were all confirmed real about an hour ago."

"What kind of items?" That explained the lack of notation in the papers, if it was recent news. He wasn't expecting the answer, although a part of his mind wasn't overly surprised.

"They were all large gemstones."

Nakamori really wanted a cigarette right about now.

--

The lit up screen of the computer sat in front of his face, but Shinichi wasn't really looking at it. He was tired. He'd been up at least half the night, running around and prodding some of his non-police contacts, so he was working on maybe about three hours of sleep. After that he skipped school, heading to the library to do a bit of research on gems and immortality. He might believe the legend to be complete rubbish, but if there were people willing to kill for it, well, it was worth checking out, if just so that he could try and figure out the criminal's motivations.

Even beyond trying to understand the criminal, he was stumped when it came to finding and rescuing Kuroba-san. He wished he could just go to the police with this, to utilize their help in searching for the missing woman, and maybe even identify the blood on the table and look over the scene for anything he might have missed due to his lack of equipment. They had more experience when it came to person-hunts, but it would just be too hard to explain how Shinichi or 'Kai' had known Kuroba-san in the first place, much less how they'd found out she was missing. Really, a crystal ball prediction? He didn't believe it himself, but apparently that's what this 'friend' told Kaito, and the boy had been unusually tight-lipped when Shinichi pressed about it.

Also a police investigation might lead someone to look too hard for 'his cousin's' records and find out there weren't any. Since Kaito had been staying out of official sight it hadn't been an issue before, but if anyone went looking…there might be some unwelcome questions. Maybe he should look into asking his parents for a favor…

Maa, it was what it was. Shinichi let out a sigh and closed the window of the website he'd been perusing, looking down at the time in the lower bottom right corner. He'd done pretty much all he could here, at least without any more leads, maybe he should go check out the neighborhood again? He hadn't been able to go around asking the neighbors for any possible witnesses, because by the time he'd finished with the initial investigation, it had been well after dark. While that wouldn't have mattered during a routine police investigation, Shinichi didn't have the authority to make people talk to him if they didn't want to. Sure, he could have tried, but he would have more than likely gotten people angry and some doors slammed in his face, and angry people weren't very inclined to talk.

Having decided on a course of action, it was time to leave. The library was too far from his destination to walk, so as soon as he got out onto the street Shinichi checked his money and hailed a cab. He didn't have to wait long, telling the driver an address nearby and sliding into the back seat, settling in for the ride.

This case was just weird. The few explanations he'd received from Kaito were very vague, and lacking in any pertinent details. For example, why would a jewel-thief (or thieves as the case may be) believe that some legendary stone was in the hands of a supposedly 18 year old magician? If it had been an heirloom, given to him by his father (since his father seemed to have been the first to gain the attention of this group), then why was Kaito so adamant that he didn't have it? The group also had to be pretty positive that he had it in order to risk kidnapping someone and possibly drawing attention to themselves. The timing wasn't right either. Why now? If they'd known he'd had it, why not try to take it earlier, before he went and disappeared on them?

It just didn't make sense, and Kaito wasn't helping him fill in the missing pieces. He trusted him, living with and getting to know him as a person had painted a pretty flattering picture, even if it was steeped in illusions like magicians always were. And he believed that there had to be some reason for Kaito to keep it quiet, even from Shinichi. His mother was in danger, with such a motivation all but the most damning secrets would come out into the open, if only to aid in getting her back. It wasn't as if Kaito wasn't concerned for Kuroba-san either, the sleep-deprived and wan face he'd seen this morning was proof enough. But…maybe it wasn't his secret to tell? Kaito was fiercely loyal. The only possible reasoning he could come up with was that it had to do with some secret on his father's part. After all, apparently Kuroba Toichi had been the one to run afoul of this 'Snake' initially. Kaito had his father on such a high pedestal, and when he spoke of him it was often with barely concealed admiration and respect.

But…his father was dead, so why continue to keep the secret? It would have to be something big, but he doubted it was anything like murder. Kaito's reaction to the one homicide scene wasn't that of someone used to the idea.

The cab rolled to a stop near his destination, the change in momentum returning his full attention to his immediate surroundings. Shinichi thanked the driver and handed over the correct fare, plus a tip before stepping out onto the sidewalk, ignoring the faint chill of the autumn air that had been absent in the confines of the cab. There was Kuroba's house, sitting two houses down from where he stood at the end of the road. A quick sweep of the neighborhood revealed nothing suspicious, no out of place cars or loiterers that would indicate surveillance. That was another reason for not wanting to look for witnesses the night before, Kaito had been pretty insistent about possible surveillance. It didn't look like it, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

His best bet would be to check the houses next door, and possibly across the street. Kaito said he missed a call from his mother's phone at around 8:30 pm, which meant the incident occurred between 8:30 and 10. By then it would have been dark out, casting doubt on anyone from further away than the immediate vicinity. Although, talking to the neighbors would present a problem—it's not like he could tell them the truth about what happened. Vandalism would likely work, attempted possibly.

The first house he checked was owned by an elderly couple. While neither the man nor the woman had seen anything, the woman was quite vocal in her anger that such a thing should happen to "that sweet young lady" and made him promise him to catch the "rascals who dared bother her." It seemed like Kuroba-san was well liked in the neighborhood. Well, widowed mothers in general ended up gaining sympathy and favor in small neighborhoods, especially from the elderly residents. After he'd discovered the couple didn't have much else to tell him, he'd thanked them for their time and left, after promising yet again that he'd find the ones responsible.

He let out a sigh of relief when the door closed behind him, that woman could talk! He'd gotten a run down on all the possible trouble-makers in the neighborhood and nearly every one of their past misdeeds. Interestingly enough, Kaito had been the trouble maker with the longest list of crimes, but even the woman had admitted that the victim's son wouldn't stoop to vandalize her house. He could feel a faint pinch of pain in his head after that discussion, but was glad to be out of there.

"Kaito?!" Shinichi kept enough sense to not freeze completely, and continued on his slow walk down the road. He'd known there was a chance of someone accidently mistaking him for the missing magician, since he was pretty sure that anyone who'd lived nearby for any length of time would have met and remembered the kid. He was pretty unforgettable. It wasn't until the voice sounded again, and a hand grabbed his arm that he allowed himself to pause, "Where have you been, Kaito?! Not even a phone call—"

The female voice suddenly cut off when he turned around, the hand releasing its hostage and drawing back with a snap, "I'm sorry! You just looked so much like my friend."

"It's okay." Shinichi responded, noticing that she only seemed to relax once he spoke. Remembering Kaito's skills with disguises, it made sense. While it wouldn't take much to make either of them to look like the other, a voice wasn't so easy to fake without some kind of voice synthesizer. It wasn't like the magician could change his voice on a whim. That was a rather difficult skill; even his mother wasn't able to do it completely. In fact, the only one he knew of who possessed both the uncanny ability to freely change his voice and appearance was the Kaitou Kid himself. Since that crazed thief was one in a couple million, it made sense that the combination would be as rare.

She wasn't a remarkable girl, but she reminded him quite a bit of Ran. Perhaps it was just the color of the hair and her build, because on closer inspection she was a bit different. She was shorter by a few inches, and her face more rounded. She seemed to be wavering between two options, probably whether to introduce herself or not, and finally one option won out, "I'm Nakamori Aoko. It's just…you look so much like him."

"Kudou Shinichi," He returned. Nakamori, so this was that inspector's daughter. She must take after her mother, because he couldn't really see much of the tall, broad shouldered Inspector Nakamori in her. He'd heard she'd inherited his temper, but that seemed to be the last thing on her mind right now, "It's not very often I hear I have a twin running around."

That got a smile from her, erasing much of the disappointment from her let-down. He even got a strangled laugh for his troubles, "Not quite a twin, just close."

He shrugged, "It's still an interesting idea. Do you live around here, Nakamori-san?"

"Yes. What about you? I haven't seen you before."

"No. I'm here on business. Which house is yours?"

An eyebrow lifted, but the girl obediently pointed out the house, it was a little ways down the street from Kuroba-san's. "What kind of business?"

"I'm a detective. Kuroba-san called to ask if I could conduct an investigation for her."

Aoko stared a moment, before her blue eyes flashed, an expression of wariness and perhaps a bit of concern, "Was it about Kaito? Kuroba-san always said he was traveling somewhere, working on his magic and a part-time job, but she'd seemed more distant recently…and she wasn't home yesterday…"

"No, no, nothing like that. There was just some attempted vandalism around her house the night before last—Saturday. She went to a relative's house for a few days, and called me to ask around and see if I could find anything."

"Then she could have come to Dad, he's an Inspector. Why you?" He could hear a note of suspicion, and see it in the way her eyes narrowed. She'd definitely picked up her father's attention to detail, and maybe even his tunnel vision if her fixation on Kaito as a cause meant anything. Ah well, time to lay the suspicions to rest. He was completely making up the next part, the last couple hadn't required any explanation beyond the basics, but the best way to make a convincing lie, was to tell the truth as much as possible, "She wasn't too concerned about it because it there wasn't much damage. I'm a freelance detective, and she didn't want to bother the police."

"So…" She seemed to buy it, the look of suspicion lessening, and being replaced by something else, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Aa…" Shinichi reached into his jacket, pulling out the small black notebook and pen he used to make notes, "Did you notice anything strange between 8:30 and 10pm on Saturday? Like a person or a vehicle outside the Kuroba residence?"

"Aaah…now that you mentioned it…" She put her finger to her chin in thought, "I did notice a black car sitting out there when I came out to take out some trash. Around…9 ish? I'd thought it strange; Kuroba-san doesn't get many visitors…" She was quiet for a moment, thinking. She seemed very eager to help now that the initial introductions were out of the way. Well, if she was friends with Kaito, and they lived so close together, then she probably knew his mother as well. Especially if she visited, like she said she did. "Ah! I remember seeing someone! The windows of the car were tinted, but when I went by the front window I saw a man get out of the car. He was dressed all in black and had a hat, and it was a little far, so I didn't see much…I thought it might have been Jii-san, he comes by sometimes in the evening and has a black car. Does that help?"

Shinichi snapped his notebook shut, stowing it away, "Thank you. You've been a great help Nakamori-san. Would it be okay if I stopped by again if I needed to?"

"Aa…It'd be okay. Is that all?"

"Yes. Thank you again."

--

The ringing of the phone jerked Kaito out of his sleep. He was groggy for a good few moments, the result of his activities the night before, and the phone was on its third ring by the time he snapped out of his daze. He just wasn't used to staying out all night anymore. He stumbled over to where the cordless phone receiver laid on the night stand, putting it against his ear and hitting the button, "Hello? Kudou residence."

"Ara? You aren't Shin-chan, are you? Who is this?" The feminine voice that came out through the receiver was not familiar at all. He paused, checking the caller ID. It was an international number, and the caller called Shinichi by a pet name. The best bet would be his mother, or perhaps some aunt he didn't know about. "I'm Kai. Shinichi-niichan is working on a case right now."

"Mou, I should have expected that. He probably went and took off as soon as school ended. Honestly, he gives no thought about his poor mother trying to get a hold of him."

Kaito only half listened to Kudou Yukiko, making a mental note not to let her know that  
Shinichi hadn't even gone to school today. Just judging by her tone she'd likely go on for a while, most mothers did when it came to skipping school or just general responsibility. He'd never actually met either Kudou Yukiko or her husband, but just from what he could glean from her personality through her voice and words—Shinichi definitely took after his father. He waited until there was a pause in her speech, and politely inserted a "Would you like me to give him a message when he gets home?"

"No, but thank you Kai-kun, I'll just try his cell phone. So how did you meet Shin-chan? I haven't talked to him in a while, so I missed out on all the details."

Aaah, and there was the question he'd been hoping she'd just forget about. It wouldn't have been as bad if she'd just waited and asked Shinichi later—he would have preferred that actually. He was pretty tired, and thinking straight enough to come up with a plausible lie would be a little difficult to accomplish. Ah well, best to stick with the basics then.

"My parents are oversees and Shinichi-niichan is letting me stay with him. He's busy a lot but he takes me places and is a lot of fun!"

"Ah, Shin-chan is such a nice boy, isn't he?" Yukiko mused, forgetting her earlier grievance against her son, "Well, I much be going Kai-kun. I'll be looking forward to meeting you soon."

He stared at the phone after she'd hung up, trying to process the parting words. Soon? With a shrug he placed the phone back on the nightstand and crawled back into bed, Shinichi would tell him about it tomorrow. He was too tired, and tonight would be just as late a night and he needed his rest.

--

Nakamori sat in his car, not the squad car, but the plain, every day one he used when not on a police matter. He had the window rolled down, a cigarette left absently in one hand as he looked across the road, to the tall office building that sat in the failing light, the streetlights slowly flickering on as they were needed.

He wasn't here as a police inspector, even if the reason was a police matter. He'd gone over the reports over and over again, caught in the mystery of the silent alarms and stealing-less break-ins, placed points on maps and checking jewel locations, and it led him here. Within the bounds of the area set up by the break-ins the night before, this was the last building with a jewel that fit the size requirement. It was quite surprising how many large jewels ended up in this city, probably lured in by the fame a Kaitou Kid heist would bring to the owner. Nakamori hated to admit it, but the old situation was a win-win situation. Sure the gem would get stolen, be MIA for a few days, but it'd be returned, and the owner would have gotten to be on the TV for days.

That was then, before the thief's retirement. But even with the lack of heists, the jewels remained in the city, prime targets for whoever was looking for them. Nakamori had a hunch this building, where a large, fist-sized emerald was on display in the top floor reception area, a way to show off wealth to other business partners no doubt, would be the next to catch the attention of that weird, silent not-a-thief. It was just based on a hunch and guesswork, so he was here unofficially, his attention captured for the first time in what felt like forever since he last tangoed with a certain moonlighting Kaitou.

He glanced at his watch, the first alarm had gone off at about half an hour after midnight, he had a few hours left to go, but there was no harm in waiting. A pack of cigarettes, kept hidden from Aoko, and a couple cups of coffee would get him through.

As the sun inched lower, hiding behind the tall skeletons of the buildings, Nakamori settled in to wait.

--

A/N: Done. Over 6k and I didn't quite finish what I wanted too, but meh. I was hoping to cover the two days between finding the note and the meeting in one chapter, but it didn't work out that way. I don't know when the next chapter will be—I have finals next week so…I kinda have to be responsible and study.

Oh, I'm curious. Do I 'tell' too much? I'm in a writing workshop class and some of the consistent comments have been that I don't 'show' enough, and I'm curious if that is also the case in my fanfiction as well.

In any case, comments please! Until next time.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Akako stood over a bubbling cauldron, dressed in her full witchly glory, staring down into the glowing contents. A faint, unnatural glow lit the room, thrown off by the liquid that sloshed slowly within the pewter confines of the large bowl, stirred by a large silver rod that moved on its own, set into its path by a small spell earlier in that day.

It would be ready by the specified time, no, sooner, tonight in fact. It'd better be; she'd skipped school to create this. This, this, thing…she could stop now if she wanted to. She hadn't added the most important ingredient, and without it the mixture wouldn't harden, wouldn't crystallize, and would remain a thick liquid soup, devoid of power.

She'd considered stopping many times as she labored over the cauldron, the hot fumes wafting from the surface and making her eyes water. She would push the idea to the back of her mind and press on, continuing the next step in the forbidden and incomplete recipe. She had to keep going, even if she came close to breaking one of the rules set down by her grandmother's grandmother.

Akako took a single strand of black hair between her thumb and forefinger, drawing the thin length in front of her face, just looking at it. Eyes hardening in determination, she gently tugged at the strand, pulling the now loose hair free of entangling strands. She wound it around her fingers, finally tying it off into a loop. It was hard work, tying a knot using something so small, with one hand, but she managed. It was the final piece, the base for the crystal and the source of the power. She let it slip from her hand, falling, falling, into the milky white soup before her.

It sparked the moment it touched the surface, the magic she'd placed within the strand releasing and spreading to the rest of the mixture. The off-white color flashed, turning a deep red as the magic worked its course, the light reflecting all throughout the room. She had to do this.

She really didn't want him to go. She didn't want to lose one of two people to ever evade her grasp. She didn't want to lose the main source of light in her life, steeped in dark magic as it was. His cheerful presence, and easy going manner, had been sorely missed, and now that she found him again—it had to be under these circumstances.

--

_Knock, Knock._

His knuckles rapped lightly against the wooden door, pausing after the second stroke to listen for any response. A softly called, 'Come in' answered him, leading Shinichi to tuck his notebook under his arm and open the door, letting himself into the room. In was dark inside, the lights out except for that from the moon, which was only a sliver away from full now.

He could see Kaito from where he stood; the boy was sitting cross-legged on the half-made bed. It was hard to see much in the dark aside from shadows and silhouettes, a fact that served well to hide the small frown he knew was tugging at the magician's usually smiling face, or the worry-lines that wouldn't have looked right on Shinichi's own face, much less that of someone who looked much younger.

"I figured you might want to know how things went today." It was a good enough ice-breaker, drawing Kaito's attention away from juggling his stones and toward him. In answer the boy caught the stones one by one, setting the pile of glittering quartz on the nightstand and flicking on the lamp. He made no move to get up, and instead scooted down closer to the end of the bed, leaving an empty spot free. Shinichi took the invitation, settling on the edge, and laying the notepad down on the comforter. Kaito was watching him now, quietly, intently, and with a deep breath Shinichi opened the book to his marked page. "I went and checked out the neighborhood, the only new information I found was from a little further down the street. Nakamori-san's house."

He was forced to pause when Kaito almost choked on a tired laugh, "I take it was an interesting experience?"

"Not as much as you seem to think. She was really helpful once I cleared up the case of mistaken identity." Pause. "She's worried about you."

"I know." Kaito flopped backwards onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. He refused to continue that train of discussion and brought it back to the original point, "So? What'd she say?"

"She reported a black car sitting across the street at 9 and someone exiting the vehicle at…" Shinichi double checked the notes he'd jotted down, "well, anywhere between half an hour to an hour later. She thought it might have been a Konosuke Jii, but I spoke with him and he wasn't anywhere near there that night. That didn't help much other than confirm what we already knew."

Shinichi flipped to the next page, reviewing the scenes from memory as well as written notes, "I also checked out the address written on the note—and yes, I did disguise myself. I do have some sense." He added that last statement almost last minute, causing Kaito to snap his mouth shut and the ghost of a smile to appear. "I did a bit of scouting. It's a full warehouse, plenty of blind spots behind and around the piles of boxes and crates. There weren't any guards that I could see, just locks on the gates and video cameras. "

"What kinds of locks?" The question was rather unexpected, earning an odd, thoughtful pause from the detective before answering, "The main gates require a key code and what seem like ID badges, but there's a back, service entrance that sports a heavy padlock. Difficult, but pickable."

Now it was Shinichi's turn to be on the receiving end of a surprised and speculative look. He chuckled, shaking his head, "What? Learning how to pick locks is almost a required skill for a detective."

"Riiight." Kaito drawled, turning onto his side and propping his head on his arm. Shinichi couldn't help but notice how much he didn't look like a child in that moment, the laidback loose posture more reminiscent of the teen he was. His eyes were half-lidded, head tilted up and hair falling messily across his forehead, "In other words, the meeting place practically screams ambush, and is essentially a locked box with only one feasible way in or out?"

"In a nut shell." The detective shrugged, "I can't really do much more without contacting the police, which we've already ruled out. I talked to Agasa earlier today; he said he may be able to fix up some of his inventions that might be useful."

"Like what?" The ideas the professor had run by him actually sounded pretty useful, and neat. The man really was a genius, even if most of his actual 'money making' schemes ended up blowing up some wall or another. What were they again? "Well, mainly at the moment, he has plans to put together a quick tranquilizer, which might be useful if, and we will, need to incapacitate the kidnapper. I can't always rely on having things to kick at people or the police being handy."

"…you kick things at criminals?" He laughed at the confusion and disbelief coloring the magician's tone. That was right, Kaito hadn't been with him on any of the cases that required some kind of projectile, whether they be actual balls, globes, or even random other small, hard objects. "Only when necessary. I even know a bit of karate, but that's more Ran's thing than mine."

"At least we're not defenseless." The lighter atmosphere seemed to melt at that, returning both of their minds to the next night, a night when a woman's life would hang on the line. Thinking things had progressed too far, Shinichi closed his notebook—there wasn't really much more to go over, just a follow up interview and his research into the reason behind the entire mess.

A movement drew his attention back, looking over to see Kaito sitting up straight, hands touching lightly the edge of the bed and eyes staring out the angled window some ways down the wall. "Do you think…"

He wouldn't let it finish. "It'll be fine."

A half smile, "Yeah. You're right."

--

'_If only I could actually believe that.'_ Kaito checked his location out of the bus window, almost there. He didn't really want to use the bus; the driver had given him a funny look upon boarding. A kid riding the bus alone after dark was an oddity, especially with his rather largish pack. He probably looked like a runaway.

The bus rolled to a stop and Kaito sprung out of the seat, grabbing his pack and slinging it over his shoulder before disembarking. He quickly checked his orientation and the state of the streets, good, not too busy, but not empty either. One block down had him ducking into an alley, donning his black stealth suit as he moved. The target building wasn't far from here, and easily accessible via scaling a fence or two, and then picking a side entrance. It was so much simpler on an official heist. He barely ever had to actually sneak in to get to his targets, all he had to do was disguise as some random police officer, avoid Nakamori and his pinching team, and then he was free to do what he wished.

The door lock was taken care of in seconds, as was the padlock on the other side of the door. His diminished size was actually an asset here, his smaller arms finding more room to maneuver in between the barely open door and the frame. Soon enough he had the padlock and chain falling to the floor, and he left it where it was, closing the door behind him and making his way up the stairs, flight by flight. There weren't any cameras in this stairwell, hence him using it as his entry point. From here it was just three flights up to where the jewel was on display, with a few pit stops along the way to disable the alarms.

Kaito sighed and pressed on, his footsteps slowly diminishing to nothing as he moved into fully silent mode. Show Time.

--

Nakamori stood beside one of the smaller display cases, arms crossed so that he could look down at his watch occasionally. A security guard from the building stood next to him, bored out of his mind and yawning quite obviously. Nakamori had to hold in the urge to scoff, he _had_ been allowed in at least. Being known as one of the faces of the Kaitou Kid Task Force had given him a little extra credibility when it came to the owners of precious jewels. It'd helped him at this point, the owner, while doubtful, was willing to let him into the showroom, with the one guard, but that was as far as it would go. But to be honest, Nakamori hadn't even expected to be allowed into the building given the time of night.

He scanned the dimly lit room—the lights had been left off so that they'd have the advantage of surprise. The shadows were large, caused by the full blast of the moon's rays pouring through the large bay windows that took up almost the entire length of the outside wall. There was a nice view of the city from here, he noted, before drawing his attention back to the two entrances of the room. His position by the display case gave him a perfect view of the entrance to the main corridor. The second door, the stairwell, was to his right and still in view. Between the two doors sat the emerald itself, which was situated near the center of the rest of the smaller cases.

He checked his watch; it was a couple minutes before midnight when he heard something besides his and his companion's noisy breathing. There was a faint scratching sound, of what exactly he couldn't tell through feet of plaster and metal. A glance at the yawning guard told him that he hadn't noticed. The member of the security personnel remained oblivious until at last the door to the service stair creaked open, an act which instantly brought the man to alertness and had him moving forward to rush whoever it was that was currently entering.

That wouldn't do. Nakamori grabbed the man's uniform and shook his head, putting his finger to his lips for quiet. There were only two of them; his usual dog-pile-on-the-bandit plan wouldn't work. In this case the best bet would be to wait until the thief believed he was safe, and then get the jump on him. The door was fully open now, unfortunately blocking the inspector's view because of their position in the back corner of the room. Luckily, the door would also limit the thief's line of sight, and gave Nakamori a few precious seconds to tug on the guard's sleeve and duck out of sight. The dim light from the stair cast a long shadow into the display room, cutting through the sea of moonlight. Nakamori couldn't help but be disappointed at the lack of top hat and cape. He really could only make out the build of the person—very slender judging by the width of the shoulders—because the stretching of the shadow made height a little hard to calculate, but he didn't have to wait long to see the silhouette move soundlessly beyond the blocking range of the door, showing up in stark contrast against the glass window panes.

His first reaction was shock; the person who entered was barely over four feet tall. He couldn't tell if they were a _very_ short adult, or a child with the way the large, cloak like garment fell loosely around the figure, blocking any and all attempts at seeing the proportions. His—he was just going with 'he' as a temporary measure—head and face was likewise covered with a hood.

The thief prowled down the line of display cases, not even bothering to turn his head to examine the other little, but valuable trinkets that lead the way to the main prize. Once the silhouette had passed their position, Nakamori signaled to his companion to get up slowly and quietly, they were going to circle around and block off the exit from behind. Or they would have, if the bumbling fool of a guard hadn't grazed the corner of one of the display, the barely audible sound of the bit-back curse causing the thief to freeze in mid step.

_Aw, hell with it._ Nakamori then sprang out of hiding, quickly signaling the—stupid, inexperienced, moron of a—guard to quickly head for the other door, so they could block both exits. He called out with his loudest and most commanding bellow, "Alright! Stop right where you are and keep both hands where I can see them!"

Two things happened then. First, the thief's hands slowly rose, and Nakamori's were searching his jacket for his handcuffs. Second, after a few precious, silent moments the thief suddenly spun around, something small and round and _very_ familiar dropping out of one long black sleeve and filling the entire room with that pink, sweet smelling smoke that Nakamori _knew _was sleeping gas. His gloved hand immediately and habitually went to his nose and mouth, even as he knew from experience it was no use.

He wasn't quite sure if it was reality or just his imagination, but before he dropped off into the familiar darkness of a drug-induced sleep he heard that same breathy, lilting voice that had haunted him for years, and would for years to come.

"I should have expected you."

--

The jewel glittered under the moonlight, but Kaito wasn't watching it beyond just a cursory check. His attention was on the man snoozing lightly against one of the display cases. He was a little proud that someone had figured it out from his tricks with the alarms, but seeing _that_ inspector had nearly given him a heartattack. Still, Nakamori did know him the best out of those on the police force, even if he wasn't Kid right now.

Kaito slid the emerald back into its glass cage, fitting the small bit of glass he'd cut out back into place. He turned away from the jewel, retracing his steps back toward the door. He still had a few minutes before the gas would wear off on Nakamori—he was just glad he'd remembered to bring along a couple of the gas canisters. If he hadn't had it, well, it would have been a bit more difficult to get out of that situation.

He stopped in front of the prone police inspector, crouching down to look at the sleeping face. He was rusty. Nakamori might have actually gotten the jump on him there if it weren't for the other guard, who was currently passed out happily on another section of the floor. He wanted to do something particularly Kid-like right now. His fingers itched to leave a note, a message, something as a reward for his most stubborn pursuer.

But he wasn't Kid right now. Kaito steered himself away from the father of his childhood friend, pushing past and pulling the door shut behind him with a less than quiet clang.

--

Kaito stared up at the looming house, one hand shoved in his pocket and the other attempting to cover up a wide yawn. He was exhausted. He didn't even bother to sleep after getting in this morning; he just grabbed some coffee and headed out. The coffee was the only thing keeping him awake right now; a power nap was definitely on the schedule once this affair was settled.

He shook his head, stepping up the large, ornate wooden door and rang the doorbell. Once, twice, and then he moved back, slipping his hand back into his pockets as he settled in to wait. It wasn't long, the door creeping open with creaking sound, revealing a person about his height. Kaito was a little hesitant to discount the idea that Akako had maybe summoned some sort of imp—the old man sure looked the part.

"Aaah…" The sound was almost a wheeze as the old man pushed the door open further, motioning him into the building, "The mistress told me of your coming. Please follow me."

Kaito eyed the dark innards of the western-style mansion, before shrugging and following after the little goblin. It wasn't too bad at first, the place looking much like any other mansion he'd seen—which had actually been a fair amount—and it wasn't until the wooden-paneled walls faded into stone and they slowly began to descend what seemed to be and endless flight of stairs that he began to feel a little edgy.

Aside from his initial introduction, his guide hadn't said a word. The silence was eerie, especially when the flickering torches, old-fashioned stonework, and the lack of any sort of escape route were added in. The situation didn't change much until, at last, the floor evened out, the stairs spilling out in what seemed like a large, circular chamber. There were many doors ringing the edges, but the old man didn't waver in his path, opening one directly to the right of the staircase, moving to the side of the door frame and bowing, "The mistress awaits."

Mistress, hah, Akako must love that. The door shut behind him, and only when Kaito didn't hear the telling click of a lock did he let himself relax even the slightest bit. Alright, disregarding the fact that he'd have a difficult time trying to find his way back out again…

"I take it you couldn't find it?"

He didn't even bother answering; he wouldn't be here now if he had. First that weirdo butler and now this underground dungeon—he really couldn't call it much else—and of course Akako had to throw her usual omnipotent attitude on top of anything.

"Of course not." She continued, turning away from him and gliding across the stone floor. She was headed toward what appeared to be the main centerpiece of the room, a large cauldron. Unfortunately, because of his height and its position on a raised dais, he couldn't see what was inside, but he didn't need to. His imagination did the work for him, conjuring up various bubbling and glowing oozes, probably with an eyeball floating somewhere inside. The image of a wide fish eye immediately popped into his head, sending an involuntary shudder through his body. Ugh, he didn't want to know.

"What's your plan, Koizumi?" That's it, don't let it show. Kaito stuck his hands into his pockets, leaning back against the stone wall. He was standing near the door, he'd followed his ex-classmate this far, but he wasn't willing to give up the only means of escape. The only reason he was here was because he didn't really have any other options. She'd also seemed like she genuinely wanted to help, which was a first as far as he knew.

"This." Akako plunged her hand into the cauldron, the actions sending some kind of red goop splashing over the rim and landing on the stone dais with a soft hissing noise. It was less than a moment before she drew back, red droplets rolling down her bare skin, pooling at the tips of her fingers, and then dripping back into the container below.

His eyes watching the path of the potion, he almost missed it. Held within the palm of her hand was a small, milky white stone, glistening drops of red clinging to the facets, like tears. He eyes widened.

"The philosopher's stone." Akako informed him in a hollow voice, pulling out a pure white cloth and wiping the almost opaque gem clean, "It isn't complete, of course. I do not have the power, nor desire for immortality. But it should be sufficient for your purposes."

She walked over to a table, situated somewhat closer to the wall and Kaito's position than the dais. On it sat a bowl of some kind of glistening dust and a thin silver chain. Akako paused in front of this table, motioning Kaito closer, and frowned when he refused to move right away. "Fine." He muttered, crossing the rest of the distance, and taking up a position at the foot of the table. To his annoyance, he could just barely see over top.

"Kuroba-kun…" Her voice made him stop examining the materials, instead turning his head to look up at her. That wasn't the sound he was used to. Gone was the superior quality, leaving just the sound of a concerned classmate. Her expression was weird too; she was looking down at him with this look, somewhere between determined and sadness. "I can only give this to you under some conditions. I created this for multiple reasons, the most obvious being it is supposed to be a diversion. But, you _cannot_ use it in an honest bargain with the criminal. While this one may not grant immortality it is a powerful healing agent." She was trying to keep her voice steady, but Kaito could hear the cracks. She was making him uneasy, with the way her fingers curled protectively around the gem in her hands, almost as if she didn't want to let it go. "Koizumi…"

She held up a hand to stop him. "Also you cannot give it back. Ever."

That stopped his conclusion just as it had begun to form. He'd thought that she was having second thoughts about giving it to him, from the sounds of it such a stone was a source of power, and he knew Akako coveted power, especially over others as shown by her harem. "Koizumi…if it's that big a deal, I can do without it. Kud—aah, my partner and I can work around it."

There was silence, and for a moment Kaito thought she looked relieved. But then she laughed. "You don't get it! I want you to have it. I've broken so many rules to create this stone for you. I saw it in the same vision I saw the kidnapping. I just need to know you won't try and destroy it, or drop it into the ocean, or give it away, or some other such nonsense."

The intensity beyond her words was almost frightening, and the air around them and throughout the room was cackling with power, enough that Kaito could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and every single instinct was screaming 'danger!' at him. He couldn't believe it, if this stone, this pretty little rock, not even the size of a five-hundred yen piece, was that important, why the hell did she make it? She was a witch, she could have probably rigged something so that some random fake glowed under the moonlight, perhaps a time-triggered spell, or maybe even just throw a red LED into a clear stone, like Shinichi had suggested just that morning. All they needed was a distraction.

"So." Those hard eyes seemed to bore into his, and she held out one hand, in her palm lay the innocent looking pebble, "Will you take it?"

When he didn't move she tossed it at him, and without thinking about it he reached up, fingers curling around the cool, smooth object and snatching it out of the air. A few odd words that he couldn't quite catch filled the room, the chain from the table lifting of its own accord and wrapping around his wrist. Surprised, Kaito drew his arm back suddenly, eyeing the chain warily. It didn't hurt, it wasn't even tightly wrapped, but he couldn't help but remember that once Akako's goal was to capture the Kaitou Kid as her own. He'd gotten caught up in the moment, with the magic crackling around and between them.

He noticed that the end of the chain disappeared under his closed fingers, and upon opening them, discovered that it looped through the end of the stone, passing through a hole he could have sworn wasn't there a moment ago. "What the hell is going on Akako?"

She simply smiled and shook her head, and she straightened up, almost relieved, "The pieces are all set, Kuroba-kun. Let the jewel hang."

Deciding that it was a little too late to second guess her now he shrugged and did as he was told. Looping the chain over his fingers, the stone hung suspended in the air, spinning gently around and around in the dimly lit room. Akako picked up the final object, taking a handful of the glittering dust and muttering a few more of those incomprehensible words.

Soon a sparkling cloud rose from her hands, swirling as if driven by a light breeze through the underground room. It coiled and twisted around the white gem, hiding it from view, before hardening into what Kaito would swear up and down looked like an honest to god sapphire.

"The illusion will last until this time tomorrow night. You shouldn't need it after that." She took the necklace from his hands, running a finger over the finely cut surface as if to inspect it before handing it back. "Keep it with you after that, Kuroba-san. Please."

"We'll see." Kaito responded evasively, moving to tuck it into his pocket before thinking better of it and hanging it around his neck, hidden under his shirt except for the smallest glint of silver. Even with the sapphire it wasn't an obvious bulk. While normally he wasn't a necklace kind of guy, he knew better than to put important things in normal pockets. The pockets in his working suit were different, they were specially designed to keep his cargo safe and in one place.

"Igor will lead you out Kuroba-kun." With a wave of her hand the butler-thing was opening the door, motioning for Kaito to follow him. Ready to get out of such a creepy place Kaito turned to follow, but paused in the door frame when he heard Akako speak again.

"Good luck Kuroba-kun, and goodbye."

That was an odd way to phrase it.

The door closed behind him.

--

"Kuroba-kun…" Akako sighed when she was sure they were gone, looking down at her hands and at the faint tingle of magic that still clung to them. A fake just wouldn't be a fitting parting gift to Kuroba-kun. Especially when she knew she'd never see Kuroba Kaito again.

--

Shinichi was in the library, skimming through an old and worn, but well loved copy of _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_. He knew most, if not all of the stories by heart now, after years and years of reading them over and over again. Holmes was what had gotten him into detective work, Holmes and his father, and Holmes was what he always returned to.

He glanced over toward the desk, at the small digital clock sitting innocently on the desk. The blinking numbers told him exactly what he'd expected—it wasn't time yet. This time he wasn't reading for fun, or to reinspire himself, but it was to pass the time. There were hours yet until nightfall, and even after that some time before the moon would be fully visible. Kaito wasn't back yet either, he'd just barely caught him this morning, catching the boy in the middle of a cup of coffee shortly after waking up, but Kaito had run out without much word after that. They only had a few hours, and they didn't even have a plan.

_Other than the fact that I'm going to be disguised as him, there really isn't anything concrete._ Shinichi reflected, stifling a sigh and shaking his head. He returned his attention to the book, trying not to think of how much didn't like just sitting here, doing nothing and letting the hours pass by. He'd considered scouting out the warehouse again—if he was lucky he might catch the criminal unawares or manage to get Kuroba-san out of there—but the risks were too great. If Kaito was correct about the identity of the culprit, which he was given the demands, then they were dealing with a very dangerous man. His father's files didn't really have much to say about his methods, but they were very clear on that point.

_Wait…_

He looked at the clock again, closing the book gently while marking his place. It was 1 o'clock now, which meant it was 6 o'clock yesterday in Hawaii. He placed the book on the desk, grabbing the telephone and pulling the receiver toward him. A few short blips later and he was listening to the ringing of a phone, his fingers thrumming against the arm of the chair as he waited for it to connect. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before. His father kept records on this guy, and his father never wrote _everything_ down, he always left out more sensitive information that he kept locked up inside his head.

"_Hello?"_ The English answer made him pause, he usually didn't call his parents, they called him, before he shook his head and continued, "'Tou-san?"

"Shinichi?" His father switched to Japanese, "What is the matter?"

That caused him to stop and stare at the phone, "How'd you know?"

"The only time you call me directly is if you need something."

Right…He usually called their vacation home if he just wanted to talk, not the cell phones. He'd wanted to make sure he got his Dad this time; he didn't want to have to explain anything to his Mom. "Anyway, I need some information. Do you know of a man, a jewel thief, who operated under the code-name Snake?"

There was silence on the other end of the line, but Shinichi waited. He shifted in the large arm-chair, grabbing his notepad and pencil out of his pocket and braced it against his knee, ready to take notes. When his father's voice returned it was quiet, hushed, "Shinichi…what have you gotten yourself into now?"

A wry smile, "It's actually not me this time. A friend of mine's mother was kidnapped, and the culprit is either this Snake man or someone who works with him. I found your file on him, but any other information would be appreciated."

"I think you are in a bit over your head, son." Yuusaku sighed, "But knowing you, you won't stay away even if I told you to. I don't have anything more recent, but eight years ago this man was part of an organization dedicated to researching immortality. If I recall correctly he was part of the group looking into old legends, especially—"

"Gemstones, sounds about right." Shinichi muttered to himself, jotting something down. "Dad, does 'Pandora' ring a bell?"

"…where did you hear about that?"

Bingo. Now his Dad sounded worried. "It's the demand."

"Shinichi, this is serious. That jewel has a very bloody history with this group. They are willing, and _have_ killed for it. My contact was killed for sticking his nose into the matter with that stone, and if it weren't for his family's connection to the local police, they would have been too. This group has a very clear policy, there are no witnesses, and obstacles must be eliminated, thoroughly. Not just the obstacle, but their family, close friends—"

"I'm back!" Kaito's voice echoed up the stairs, drawing Shinichi's attention away from his father and pausing the scratch of his pen against the paper.

"Are you listening to me Shinichi? I'll be flying out there in a couple days—don't do anything before then, alright?"

"I've gotta go Dad. My friend is back."

"Shinichi! Promise me."

"Bye." He hung the phone up with a click—he was going to pay for that later, but there was no way he could do as his father asked. The deadline was tonight. He managed to slip the notebook into his pocket and returned the phone to its normal position before he heard Kaito on the stairs. He didn't want to tell the magician anything of what he'd just learned; there was no need to worry him. It was bad enough that just his mother's life was on the line, he didn't need to know that there could be a chance it could spill over onto every other person he held dear.

Shinichi had grabbed his book and started to pretend he'd been reading the whole time when the door opened, admitting a very windswept looking Kaito. Hair messed up even more than usual, face colored a little red from the chilly air outside, the boy quickly crossed the open space, stopping a few feet from Shinichi's chair, "Well, well, I thought I was the one who liked to lurk in here."

"It was my space long before you came around, kid."

There was a quick shift in his expression at the comment, but it was smoothed over so fast that Shinichi wasn't quite sure if he'd actually seen it. The kid's 'Poker Face' was definitely on today, it had to be for him to be acting so calm, especially with what would happen in the next five, six, seven hours weighing on his mind.

Kaito just waved off the retort with an airy "Details, details" before his hands went to his neck and touched a small silver chain that glittered against pale skin. Shinichi blinked, that wasn't there a minute ago, was it?

"Catch." Was the only warning he got before Kaito slid the chain over his head and tossed the necklace at the detective. He had to drop the book into his lap in order to receive it, hands closing around something large and round. Held in his palm was what looked to be a large sapphire, facets gleaming in the overhead lights, "Is this—"

"Nah, it's not the real thing. But it should be fine as bait; they've never seen it before."

"Where'd you get it?"

Kaito frowned a little, "Would you accept the answer that it's a secret?"

"Kaito—"

"Please?"

"…fine…" For now at least. One day, there weren't going to be secrets anymore. He'd make sure of that. They just had to get through tonight in one piece.

A/N: Okay, that should be the last of the set-up chapters. The confrontation should be next. I'd actually had this chapter—up until that last section—done about a week ago, but it didn't seem like the right stopping point. Still doesn't, but I can't think of anything else. I'd tried to tone down the 'telling', it's just an experiment.

Anyway, next chapter…I don't know. I haven't started it yet, so it could be soon, or a month from now depending on motivation.

By the way, there's been something bothering me. A couple people mentioned Shinichi and figuring out Kid, right? I've went over everything Shinichi knows, and I can't see him drawing the connection. He'd only met Kid once(clock tower) and that was from a helicopter. There was no Movie 8 to let him know that Kid looked like him or any other clues from the DC Kid cases. And Kaito's been careful. Everything Kid-like he'd done, that Shinichi knows about, could be explained away as being a magician. Shinichi sees the magician, not the phantom thief.

And…I guess the point of that little paragraph is that Shinichi won't figure it out with the information he has. He will, eventually, but it will be because of an outside source. And, I should probably shut up now before I give anything more away.

Thank you so much for the comments! The ones about the 'show not tell' were helpful with my little dilemma, and the ones (or parts of ones) about the story give me a look into what the readers are getting out of this story. It's very interesting, seeing which parts of the chapter stuck out the most to different people. Oh, and special thanks to _The Shang Kudarung_, you didn't need to review every chapter, but I really enjoyed reading them!

Remember to leave a review~

Till next time.

-Katreal


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter 16

"Are you ready for this?"

Kinda a stupid question. Of course he wasn't. But… "Ready as I'll ever be."

"At least you won't be the one within shooting range."

That comment managed to elicit a mock glare from Kaito, but it didn't last long, settling back into the sea of anxiety. It wasn't like shots were out of the question, indeed they were completely likely. Shinichi probably noticed the flicker of unease that slipped through his mask, waving it off, "Don't worry about it."

The detective was fiddling with the collar of his shirt when Kaito finally looked away from the window, eyeing the detective that didn't really look like a detective any more. Gone was Shincihi's more formal posturing, tamed hair, and neat clothing. Obviously, since the criminal was after a grown up Kaito this ruse was necessary. It wasn't even strange anymore, to look across the room, car, street, and see himself, even if he had to crane his neck to do so. They'd had plenty of practice during the school year. Still, his mood darkened; there was a big difference between meeting a principal and meeting a possibly trigger-happy kidnapper.

"Hey…" Shinichi looked up at the quiet words, "Thanks…"

"S'the least I can do." There was a knowing look in the detective's eyes as they both fell into a conversation that had happened plenty of times since their meeting. "It was my—"

Kaito cut him off, even though they both knew what Shinichi had been going to say. "I know exactly what caused it. A bit of a hero complex and a 'nobody gets hurt' motto."

"I wish more people would have them." Shinichi chuckled, Kaito following his gaze out the tinted car window, eyes landing on the building just down the street. It looked no different from the ones to the right and left, but to his eyes it was as if it was darker, more sinister. The time was a mere ten minutes away. "The world would be much safer."

With a final adjustment to his collar, Shinichi dropped his hands, one landing on the door handle, "Well, time to start the show."

The voice that rang out of Shinichi's mouth was no longer his own. Changing voices was no big thing for Kaito, but it was new for the detective. His eyes caught on a gleam of silver clipped onto Shinichi's shirt collar, the sight of which had been previously blocked—a voice changer?

"Impressive. It's pretty close." He had to admit it, impressed because Shinichi wouldn't have any examples to go by. It was a little off, but he doubted it would be noticeable by anyone who wasn't used to recognizing and manipulating voiceprints.

"I've a good ear. Completely tone deaf, but a good ear." With a jaunty wave, falling into the role he was playing, Shinichi opened the door and stepped out. He stuffed his hands in his pockets after the door clicked shut, becoming just another teenager on the street. He really was a good actor when he tried. Kaito sighed and leaned back in the seat. Five minutes, then he'd follow.

"Do you still have what I gave you?" Agasa's voice took Kaito's eyes off Shinichi's retreating back. The professor was in the front, driver's seat, half turned and glancing back.

"Yeah." Kaito shrugged, bringing a hand up and showing the watch clipped around his wrist. "I also remember what you said about limited ammo."

Neither of them really wanted to talk right now, and they settled into uncomfortable silence. Kaito watched the clock on the car's radio like a hawk, only relaxing once the five minutes had passed. There. Time to go.

Kaito stretched his arms, working the kinks out of the muscles and glanced up at Agasa again. He received a small nod in return. Good. The professor remembered the contingency plan. Over an hour, call the police.

Kaito slid out of the now open door, making sure the street was empty before slipping into the shadows left over by the setting sun. He soon found the side door Shinichi had mentioned—as he expected, it was locked again. Not by the giant old fashioned lock Shinichi had reported, but a bit of scouting on the thief's part discovered a rather old, but functioning electronic lock. Shinichi hadn't noticed the discrete system, hidden as the control panel was behind a thin metal plate displaying the building number and owner.

Kaito could think of a few reasons behind the sudden activation of the electronic lock. It was meant to cut off the escape route. The padlock the detective had picked was discarded on the ground near the door—the system had been locked after the detective had gone inside.

Hah. They were going up against the Kaitou Kid. They should have known better. Kaito felt himself falling into that self-assured confidence of his Kid persona, producing a small toolkit and set to work on removing the outside covering of the small control panel. He wasn't a professional thief for nothing, and with a few seconds of tinkering, Kaito was able to disable the alarm system and hear the door unlatch with a small click.

The steel door slid back easily after that, and wary eyes began to roam the vicinity immediately within. Shinichi hadn't been exaggerating. It was very dark and cluttered. An assassin's wonderland. Then again, it was also a thief's playground.

Kaito eased the door shut behind him. With the near-dead light from the outside cut off, Kaito could see a faintly lit area some ways to the right, nearer to the front of the warehouse. A portable lamp or an open window probably. It just barely reached above the crates, and was very limited in intensity. It also had a slightly red color—he'd bet on the window. The detective was probably over there. And wherever the detective was, the culprit was likely as well. He could hear sounds from that direction as well, even if he couldn't make out the words.

He raised a hand to his ear, tapping the small, slim contraption he'd slipped on just before leaving the car. It crackled quietly for a moment as he adjusted the volume so it wouldn't carry any father than his ear. For a moment the feed was quiet, only the rustle of fabric letting him know the receiving end was working. He'd stuck the small, sticky microphone into Shinichi's jacket, so the interference was expected.

"How long are you going to keep me waiting?"

The quiet noise corresponded with a renewed sound from the lit area of the warehouse, reaffirming Kaito's belief in Shinchi's whereabouts. The boxes and the low ceiling muffled the sound, so Kaito just tuned it out, paying attention to the earpiece as he began picking his way through the maze of crates. Shinichi would take care of distracting the guy, and Kaito was going to find his mother. Logic dictated that the criminal element would keep her out of sight, but near at hand, especially if they wanted to try and threaten her safety to ensure cooperation.

--

"Patience." Fox eyed Kuroba; he didn't seem much like a professional pain-in-the-ass thief from up close. Appearances aside, he was certain this was the Kid. He knew it. This was the kid who'd managed to send him on that merry little goose chase, and left him lost in the middle of the Ekoda district after disappearing all together. He suppressed a growl at the memory, such a wasted afternoon. Wolf had seemed oddly pleased at the news, and he was certain she'd been laughing behind her pretty little hand after that phone call.

The kid was standing in front of him, on the other side of the space between the building's inventory and the wall. The brat didn't seem at all nervous, a little detail that mildly annoyed him. The dying sun streaming from the window painted the teen in bright red, just as it cast Fox in shadows. His lips curled at the thought, fitting. And it wouldn't be long until the sun disappeared and with it, the kid's usefulness.

"I need to be sure you're telling me the truth about that pretty little rock." Fox eyed the pendant dangling from the thief's hand, it fit the little details he'd been given—a large, semi-opaque jewel, with a special flag attached to emeralds, rubies, and sapphires—but he couldn't remember seeing it among the files he'd been given that listed the Kid's targets. It was unlikely the kid would have brought it if it was a fake though, not with his mother's life on the line, and his 'nobody gets hurt' motto. It was a really stupid code for a criminal to follow, but it made his job so much easier.

The kid didn't respond to the statement, so Fox decided to press on. He had a bit longer until the moon reached the required height. "For all I know you coulda just nabbed any old jewel, hoping to pull one over on me. Did you know? Your father tried the very same thing to Snake." That one got a flinch. Fox was glad he'd thought to read up on the former thief for his mission, "It was then _they_ decided he'd outlived his usefulness. Until then they'd been happy to let him find the jewel for them. It was just a little bit of motivation, but he decided to go and lie to them."

He gave the son of Kuroba Toicihi an appraising look, although he doubted the boy could see it in the darkness that had finally settled in the warehouse. Not much longer. Kuroba was giving him a confused glare, although the boy hadn't said a word.

"Let's just hope you didn't make the same mistake, Thief. How does it go? Like father like son?"

The resulting jerk was well worth it.

--

Kaito froze in mid-movement, devoting all his attention to the faint words coming out of his earpiece. _Damn it. Don't figure it out Shinichi…Don't freak out…_

He'd known very well that this entire situation had a very high possibility of blowing up in his face, even if they both managed to get out alive and unscathed. He could only hope Shinichi would take everything the guy—who just admitted he _was_ working with Snake, sometimes he hated being right—said with a grain of salt, and managed to keep from jumping to conclusions. Even if they are the right conclusions.

_Gah, figure out what to do about it later. _Kaito told himself, returning to his mission. Quick fingers began anew their assault against the metal cuffs, the lock pick making quick work of the bindings. They were tougher to crack than the standard issue police handcuffs, but it didn't take the thief long to get them to snap open. The captive twitched, and Kaito whispered a quiet "Shh." Before moving on to the rope that was knotted tightly right below where the cuffs used to be. This guy hadn't taken any chances. It made sense, the wife of a thief might know a thing or two about getting out of ropes, or even handcuffs, but both at the same time was another story.

Kaito knew she was awake. She had been since he'd first stumbled across the dark shape lying on the floor, hidden behind a stack of crates just outside the slowly contracting ring of light. He'd been right; the kidnapper had wanted to keep his captive nearby, but out of sight. Logical, but predictable.

The ropes finally fell away, and his mother rose quickly and quietly. Kaito quickly nabbed one of her hands and tugged her back the way he'd come, towards where he'd left the door unlocked. He couldn't see much in the dark, and neither could she—although he was certain she'd noticed the size of his silhouette right now. He was just lucky she was aware enough of the voices to their right to know to leave off the questions and answer sections. For now.

Nothing else came over his earpiece, and the silence both relieved him and left him with a faint sense of unease. On one hand, he really hoped Shinichi didn't think too much on the kidnapper's earlier words, but on the other hand, the criminal wasn't saying anything either. He glanced back, time seemed to be dragging so slowly…and he wondered why the kidnapper had called them there so soon before moon-rise. It was dark when he finally pushed the door open, a single yellow light glowing right above the doorframe. He let go of his mother's hand, turning around to watch her emerge from the building.

She looked extremely pale, and the shadows of bruises littered her skin. Luckily they didn't look too bad, and aside from the irritated, red skin where the cuffs had pinched and the rope burned, she looked to be without injury. Looking at her now, free and somewhat unharmed, all the worry that had been building up over the past few days came tumbling down in a flood of mixed feelings and pure relief. Without a word he threw his arms around his mom, ignored the fact that he didn't even come up to her chest, ignored the fact that she stiffened momentarily before returning the embrace awkwardly.

Unfortunately he couldn't stay away from reality for very long. The memory that Shinichi was still inside the building, doing his diversion thing, caused him to pull away reluctantly. He didn't have time right now. The silver watch Agasa gave him was cold against his wrist.

"There's a car waiting—down the road and to the right, and then a left. It's a yellow beetle sitting in the parking lot."

"Kaito—"

He shook his head, pulling away when she took a step forward, "I'm not going to ask how you figured it out. But I can't explain anything. Not right now. Shinichi is—"

Kaito cut off, tilting his head and listening as the connection came alive in his ear, a faint bit of static happening before the kidnapper's voice came over the line. _"Place the stone on the floor, in the moonlight."_

Crap. He thought he'd had more time. If the click right after the order wasn't a gun safety being taken off, then he'd eat his hat. Not that he had one on right now, but that wasn't the point. "_Where's my Mom?"_ Shinichi asked back. Kaito froze, he knew Shinichi was trying to buy time, but the detective didn't know he'd already gotten her out of there. If the kidnapper bowed to the request…

"_You'll see her. After you put the damn jewel down, and then put your hands up where I can see them."_

Well, that was a bit of a relief. But he had to go.

"Go!" He hissed to his mom before ducking back inside the warehouse.

--

Shinichi grit his teeth, it was quite difficult to stay calm when the cold barrel of a gun was being pointed at him from less than five meters away. It took every bit of concentration he had to keep himself from showing his unease. He didn't need to give this man anything else to hold over him, not with the way he'd already reacted to his earlier taunts.

It'd been surprising to learn that Kaito's father had been a thief. A thief who'd been used by this…gang…to search for the Pandora. He couldn't help but wonder if that was the big secret Kaito had been so unwilling to tell him. It fit with the other facts he'd learned. Kuroba Toichi could have found the jewel, hidden it, and tried to throw the group off the scent with a fake. Then he was killed, and the group didn't know where the jewel was. That was as far as his conclusions took him. He didn't know why they suddenly thought Kaito had it—

"_Like father like son, eh Thief?"_

--unless they'd tried using _Kaito_ to find it, and assumed that he had when he'd gone missing because of the damned drug induced shrinking…

He abruptly stopped that train of thought, filing it away for later. Making conclusions without all the evidence was something he knew better than doing. It had been pounded into his head every time he read a Sherlock Holmes case.

That black metal pistol shined darkly under the faint moonlight that was now trickling into the window, painting the floor a pale white color that stopped a few inches from where he stood. Shinichi took his eyes off the weapon and took in the enemy, not able to see much of the expression hidden behind the shadows cast by the black fedora and having his back to the only light source.

"Put the jewel down in the light." The man in black growled again, gesturing to the faintly glowing square cast by the window between them. Something was telling Shinichi that it wouldn't be wise to try and stall much longer, not with the way he noticed the tightening of the trigger finger.

Keeping an eye on the man's movement, the detective in disguise slowly knelt down, placing the blue stone near the edge of the indicated area and backed up. He glanced quickly at the surrounding area—he didn't see anything he could use as a projectile if the man decided he'd outlived his usefulness. He had the thing the professor gave him, but he didn't know if it was going to work—

"Is it a dud, Thief-san?" The man seemed almost gleeful. "I thought I'd warned you what would happen if it was—"

There, at their feet, a flicker of red was building in deep blue depths, growing stronger with every second longer it was exposed to the moonlight. The kidnapper sucked in a breath, and Shinichi couldn't help the disbelief he'd felt creeping into his mind. It'd worked.

Kaito had somehow figured out how to rig a gemstone to glow scarlet, from the inside. There was no way it was possible otherwise.

_Like shrinking people, isn't?_

Ignoring that. The kidnapper stepped forward, gun lowering a little unconsciously as the man seemed to be sufficiently distracted with the jewel on the ground. The detective took advantage of that, reaching for the thin, circular contraption he'd clipped to his belt, ready to press the trigger once he found a sufficient opening. As soon as the man bent over to pick it up—Now!

The professor's invention had his black and white inflatable weapon bouncing at his feet, the sound drawing the attention of the kidnapper. The gun rose in a trained response, the finger tightening just as Shinichi sent the soccer ball flying with all the power he could muster.

_Bang!_

The sound of the gun discharging occurred just as he threw himself out of the way. He wasn't fast enough, the bullet biting into his trailing side just as the ball hit the man's arm with a sickening crunch.

It felt as if a steel knife sliced through his body, the passage of the projectile severing nerve ends and sending them alight with what felt like electricity. He stumbled.

"You've upgraded from cards to balls?" The kidnapper growled, transferring the gun to his left hand. Cards?

Another clash of thunder, and the world exploded into pain.

He could hear a strangled cry from somewhere behind him that sounded vaguely like his name before he crumpled to the ground.

Then it went black.

--

The next thing Shinichi was aware of was that he hurt. His shoulder and side throbbed like they'd been run through with a red-hot iron. He was confused at first, thinking processes hindered by both his previous unconscious state and the current haze of his pain-numbed mind.

Right. He'd been shot. Twice. He was able to recall that much after much searching, even if the actual event was just one big blur of color and noise and yelling and mind-debilitating pain and then more yelling before he finally managed to black out. His wounds were still there, a burning and twisting feeling in his limbs, but he tried to ignore it, tried to remember. There was something he was forgetting, something important—did he just hear voices?

He hadn't opened his eyes yet, and now that he was paying attention he could hear a quiet murmuring from somewhere to his side. It'd been covered up before by a consistent hum of machinery—a motor? It sounded familiar. Like…

Kaito! It didn't all come back then, but the situation came drifting to the surface. Kuroba-san, was she alright? What happened to that man? He tried to move, to sit up—something—but all that it resulted in was a fresh bout of knives stabbing into his wounds, releasing a fresh wave of agony and forcing him back into the car seat.

"Shinichi!"The relief in the voice, and the sudden increase in volume, managed to break through the veil, answering at least one of his questions at least, not that he was really thinking about it at the moment. "Don't move too much—we're headed home."

"Did we get him?" Was what he tried to say, managing to open on eye and stare up at the blurry face hovering over him, but all it sounded like to his ears were unintelligible syllables. It looked like Kaito, sounded like Kaito, and apparently he managed to get his point across because the next answer was a timid, but solid, "Yeah, I managed to tranq him as soon as you went down, then called the police before we left."

That was good news. His eyes drifted shut and he let himself fall back into the blackness, away from the pain.

When the detective finally stopped twitching, settling into sleep, Kaito turned his attention back to the front of the car. Both his mother and Professor Agasa were looking back in concern, although the good professor was at least trying to keep some of his attention on the mostly empty road. The elderly man was looking a bit more relieved and less tense now that Shinichi had managed to wake up, no matter how briefly. It was a good sign. Still, first and foremost they needed to get those bullets out.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Can you call Jii-chan? Give him directions to Shinichi's house and tell him to bring the works. He'll know what I mean."

"Kaito…Jii doesn't know—"

He cut her off, "I know. But he's patched me up more than a few times when I needed it." He didn't need to tell her what for, that much was obvious, "A couple of those times involved bullets. He has more experience in it than the rest of us. Besides, it's about time."

Her face lost any color it might have regained when he mentioned the bullets, which managed to highlight the bruises and bit of dried blood littering her skin, luckily that was all she received during the four night stay with that man—it could have been much worse. Eventually she nodded slowly, accepting the cellphone Kaito passed up to her, flicking it open and pressing the necessary keys with an ease that spoke of long familiarity.

For his part, Kaito returned to the injured detective beside him, discovering for the first time that one of his hands had been caught up in Shinichi's unconscious grip sometime between now and when he'd fallen asleep. The gesture warmed him a little, but he couldn't dwell on why right now. He had to make sure Shinichi's earlier stunt—his failed attempt at moving—hadn't loosened or disturbed any of the makeshift bandages that were currently the only things keeping him from bleeding out.

A quick check revealed no change. That was a plus at least. With the prospect of death by blood loss held at bay for the moment, the tension on his nerves eased a little, letting him lean back against the chair and returned to his vigil.

"You'd better be okay." He told the unconscious teen, grabbing the hand that held his own captive and squeezing it. Shinichi's grip was tight, his hands warm, all reassuring him that the detective was still there. It scared him to know how close he'd come to having Shinichi leave for good—just like his father. The difference would have been Kaito would have been witness, and he was sure the guilt would kill him. He'd tried to look into a future in which the detective wasn't there, and he couldn't believe how much the thought managed to terrify him.

_Nobody gets hurt._

_Damn it._

_You better be okay._

--

A blue jewel lay forgotten, glowing softly in the moonlight until she knelt down and picked it up. Wolf gave it an approving eye. Kuroba-kun was a resourceful boy. It was a really convincing fake. She knew better though. Pandora was not in a sapphire.

She slipped the jewel into one of her suit pockets and looked down at the crumpled body of Fox. Really, it was pathetic. Beaten by a teenager and a child. Although, that child bore an uncanny resemblance to her teacher's son at that age, and the teenager was definitely using a voice changer. Curious. Oh so curious. She'd stuck a tracker on that old yellow beetle when the kid called the old man to help get the wounded teenager into the back—she'd get to work on that mystery as soon as she cleaned this mess up.

She reached into her suit, withdrawing a small, dainty handgun. The police would be here shortly, and there was no way little ol' her was going to be able to lug that much deadweight out of here.

_--_

Kaito kept glancing toward the living room, where they'd deposited the still unconscious Shinichi onto the couch. It'd been difficult getting him inside as it was, and with only a woman's and an old-man's strength, trying to get him up the stairs to a proper bed would've been impossible. Agasa was in there now, probably trying to contact Shinichi's parents. Kaito groaned and let his head fall onto the table, making sure to push his half empty coffee mug out of the way first, and just let it sit there, the cool wood attempting to calm his headache.

"Kaito…Are you alright?" His mother sat across from him, having decided that since Agasa was watching Shinichi she had 'Kaito duty.' He appreciated it, really he did, it was wonderful to be able to see her and not be worrying his head off because she'd been abducted by the people who killed his father. But right now… "Just peachy." He muttered, not lifting his head, "Is Jii-chan here yet?"

As soon as he said that, the door bell rang, and he shot straight out of his chair. He started for the door, but his mother stopped him, "Wait. If you go out now you'll have to explain."

Seeing her point he nodded and sat back down. He'd told the whole story to her on the drive back here, leaving out the more…sensitive (ie: Kid related) reasons behind the entire kidnapping fiasco. He was watching as she left the kitchen and went out into the hall, listening as the door opened and as greetings were given, and he heard Jii's familiar and long missed voice exclaiming over her bruises.

"It's nothing." She waved him off, their voices starting moving down the hall now, "There's someone else I need you to look over."

"Is the young master here?" The concern was obvious in the elder man's voice, and Kaito couldn't help a soft smile, he'd been trying to get Jii-chan to stop calling him that, but at least it was familiar. But familiarity brought with it pain, because he knew he'd have to choose sooner or later.

"Yes, Kaito is here, but he's not the one hurt. It's the young man who lives here, Kudou Shinichi."

"Kudou? You mean—"

Kaito couldn't hear the rest of the statement, the door from the living room to the hall way shutting and blocking out the sounds. A few minutes later both Agasa and his mother emerged from the door connecting the living room and the kitchen, closing it behind them. The old professor took his mother's vacated seat, while she stood off to the side looking a bit bemused, "That is the boy you've been living with?"

Kaito nodded, confused as to why she suddenly asked.

A faint smile pulled at her tired face, "It had to have been fate, for you to have run into Kudou's boy."

"Wait…you know the Kudous?"

Even Agasa looked interested, "I don't remember any Kuroba…"

"It was just light contact. My husband trained Yukiko-chan in her acting. I think he even took you with him once, Kaito."

Kaito leaned back into his chair; arms crossed, and tried to think back. He'd known his father had trained a few pupils, even though they hadn't been in the magic arts. One of those people had been Shinichi's mother? He couldn't remember; it was so long ago.

"So your husband was her 'mysterious magician' teacher? She never did tell us who it was." Agasa was talking now; Kaito figured anything was a good distraction for the old man. He'd known Shinichi since he was a tiny little thing; the detective's condition was probably bothering the professor most of all.

"Of course. Toichi always liked to be mysterious like that. I hear he actually came close to meeting her husband once, but it didn't work out."

The two adults talked for a while, the topic staying on his father for a while before straying to other matters. They talked about anything and everything; anything to keep from worrying over what Jii-chan would say when he came through the door. Kaito tried to pay attention for a while, but inevitably his eyes kept wandering to the door.

It was some time later when the news finally came. There was a faint click, and then the knob slowly turned. It took a good amount of will power not to jump to his feet and tear the door open, will power that the dear professor seemed to lack, because he was crossing the kitchen already when the door finally opened, revealing a tired looking Jii, cleaning his hands with a slightly bloodied rag. "How is he?"

Agasa was quick to ask, drawing Jii's attention immediately. Kaito slid out of his chair as his mother pushed away from the cabinet she'd been leaning against. He hung behind her a little as she moved to stand near the two men.

"I cleaned and bandaged the wound on his side—it was a straight through shot, the bullet exiting out his back, luckily missing his ribs and organs. It's the shoulder that worries me. I can't remove it without knowing exactly where the shell is. Because of the placement and angle, there seems to be a very good chance of his shoulder blade being hit. If that's the case…" The elder man shrugged helplessly.

"So, in other words, we should get him to the hospital." Kaito murmured thoughtfully. It should be all right, Kudou Shinichi wasn't the target tonight. To be honest, they probably should have taken him to the hospital right away. He wasn't used to having that option open given what he was usually doing when he required medical assistance.

"Yes, that would be the best course of ac—" Jii turned to face him, not recognizing his voice. But he froze and cut off the sentence when they made eye contact. Apparently the old man was able to remember the scattered number of times that he'd seen Kaito as a younger kid; it wasn't much, especially since Jii-chan hadn't been a big factor in his life until after he'd decided to pick up his father's mantel. "Y—Young Master?"

"Yeah, Jii-chan. It's me." Kaito managed a tired smile for his partner and part-time uncle, "It's a pretty long story."

The elder man didn't seem to quite believe it at first, but he glanced at Kaito's mother for confirmation. Upon receiving it he sighed. Kaito smiled. Good ol' Jii-chan. "I suppose it is quite the story, Young Master, but there are more important things to do at the moment."

Yeah, there were. Agasa had been quiet during the entire exchange, but now he spoke up, "I couldn't get a hold of Shinichi-kun's parents, but I still have the power to make medical decisions since they are oversees often. I can take him to the hospital."

Kaito nodded, "I'll go with you." Then turning his attention to his mom, "About what we talked about earlier…?"

"I'll draw up a list."

Mom pulled a napkin out of the dispenser and snatched a pen from the small holder on the windowsill and set to writing. Agasa headed up to the library, probably in search of whatever paperwork and identification that would be needed. Kaito snagged Jii-chan before he could go offer his assistance, "Jii-chan…I was wondering if you could do us a favor."

"What is it, Young Master?"

Kaito glanced back to where his mother was scribbling on the napkin, before taking a breath and continuing, "After what happened…I really don't want to Mom to go home by herself, but she doesn't have anything here. Would you be willing to take her home to pick up some things while we go to the hospital?"

"Of course." The response was automatic, but Kaito really hadn't expected any other answer. "Can I expect an explanation when we return?"

"Yeah. You just might have to suspend your disbelief though."

Jii chuckled at that, but nothing else was said. He continued on his way, helping Agasa carry Shinichi back to the car.

A few minutes later Agasa stuck his head inside, "Coming, Kaito-kun?"

"Yeah!"

He gave his mother a quick goodbye hug before following Agasa out the door.

--

When the police pulled up in answer to a panicked call about gunshots in the industrial complex, they arrived to find that the case wasn't in their hands any longer. The indicated warehouse was engulfed in rising dancing flames, painting everything with shades of reds and oranges…

--

A/N: Gaaah. I really did not mean to take this long. Still, s'not quite as long as my other stories. …I really should update them soon. This was HARD. I still don't like it. But I can't hold onto it for much longer. It took so long to write the actual meeting scene… I'm just not finding myself very motivated unless it's during a time when I don't have access to computer/pencil and paper or should be doing something else. _cough_Studying_cough._ Anyhow, hope you like. Next chapter should go back and revisit what happened to Nakamori. I probably should put it in this chapter but…it just doesn't really fit.

I so wanted to stop this chapter with Wolf's scene D: but I figured I owed ya'll a bit more for the wait.

Anyway, review pleaaase~ Reviews make the world go 'round.

Also! I am looking for new manga to read :D Anyone got any recommendations that involve people with alter egos? IE: DNAngel and Samurai Deeper Kyo? Not those, I read them, but ones with similar concepts?


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter 17**

Wolf made her way down the stark white hallway, one hand holding onto a small vase containing a cluster of pink Rhododendron, the other smoothing a wrinkle out of her nurse uniform. A passing doctor gave her a nod and a smile, which she returned, along with a quick flick of curled brown hair and a flirtatious wink. She had to stay in character after all.

She turned back to the room numbers, searching for a particular one. She'd taken a peak through the hospital's records and learned that a certain patient had been released from surgery about an hour ago, to a certain room just down the hall. She had to see, had to confirm her suspicions for herself. It didn't really matter in the end, arrangements had already been made, the fire, Fox, she'd even hacked Gin's records, removing any written evidence of a certain _incident_. She knew Gin, knew he never remembered witnesses, not unless something reminded him. Something like the memo Fox had sent out earlier.

_That_ had also been discretely deleted. It was laughable how easy it was to get around her compatriot's security measures. Secure as Fort Knox to anyone _outside_ the organization perhaps, but to the Boss's favorite? Child's play.

Ah, there it was. She stopped in front of the door and pushed it open, being careful to block the hall's light with her body. She wouldn't want to disturb the recovering patient, after all. The room inside was dimmed, light from the full moon spilling out of the cracks in the blinds. Monitoring equipment pulsed from the corner, next to the bed in this small recovery room.

Wolf closed the door behind her, making her way to the bed. She looked over the occupant, without the hairstyling gel and discrete makeup there was nothing to hide the fact that this kid was _Yukiko's _kid, not her old teacher's. She remembered him, had even taken an interest in his detective career _before _the issue with Kuroba had popped up. It was her policy to have a diverse range of resources in the wings, and if she could wind him up and point him in the right direction, Kudou Shinichi would be a wonderful tool indeed.

She wasn't here for Kudou tonight, though seeing him brought back half-baked plans and a reminder to make sure the Organization wasn't developing undue interest in him. Her eyes slid from the recovering teen to one of two seats beside the bed, at the phantom curled up in the uncomfortable chair. She'd checked with the other nurses, this child refused to leave the older boy so the staff had reluctantly allowed him to remain overnight. The old man, Agasa, was supposed to be here as well, but she'd just seen him in the lounge, nursing a cup of the hospital's horridly stale coffee. It gave her enough time to do what she was here for.

Wolf moved purposely past the child, careful not to muffle her steps _too_ much beyond those of a thoughtful night nurse attempting to look out for the sleep of the hospital's patrons. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a faint gleam in the half light followed by a near inaudible shift in breathing patterns, warning her that the child wasn't _quite _asleep. Light sleeper, as she'd expected, especially if he was who she thought he was.

She placed the vase onto the night stand, arranging the blooms so they didn't obscure the card sitting amidst the pink petals. Satisfied, she moved back to the bed, checking the chart, going through the standard procedure to put her watcher at ease. Eventually the child's breathing evened out again and she paused, taking the chance to get a closer look.

She'd seen the kid from a distance in the warehouse, where she'd elected to guard the prisoner. She'd watched, and then decided to fade out of sight when she caught nearly silent footsteps that didn't belong. It had looked like a ghost walked out of one of her memories, and she half expected to see her teacher pop out of a shadow like he delighted in doing during her lessons once upon a time.

Once. She'd seen Toichi's son in person once. Twice, if she counted the funeral, but she _never _forgot a face. This boy was a dead ringer for a decades-ago Kuroba Kaito, perhaps a few years older. And given Kuroba was supposed to be the same age and near twin to Kudou over there…

Things were getting…interesting.

* * *

Kaito cracked an eye open after the nurse left. She'd really given him the creeps, stopping and looking at him like that. He was used to the pins and needles feeling of being watched, but that didn't mean he liked it.

_Upsie daisy. _He winced as his back protested the movement; hospital chairs weren't the most comfortable thing to fall asleep in, even if it'd been nothing more than a cat nap. Rule number six of being the Kid, sleep when you can, heist and homework wait for no man. He was already running low on sleep from his burglary spree, add that to Shinichi—

_Shinichi!_

No, he was still in bed. Still asleep. No different from when the doctors had wheeled him into the recovery room. They'd told Agasa the surgery was a success, there was no major damage—a relief. Then he'd gotten a call from Mom, telling him her and Jii would be staying at the Kudou home, and then…then…

Everything came crashing down, and he'd barely managed to warn Agasa before he passed out. That was the last he'd remembered before light changes and footfalls snapped him awake.

Flowers? They did deliveries at this time of night? The clock by the monitoring equipment proclaimed it to be just a hair on this side of 11 o clock. He got to his feet and rubbed a petal between his fingers, it felt real, which cut down on the possibility the bouquet was trapped. An experimental poke into the water and a sniff—nothing suspicious. Just because he'd created sleeping gas filled bouquets didn't mean anyone else did.

Maybe he was getting paranoid. Sleep deprivation and close calls and lethal animal-named black clothed operatives weren't easy on his mental health. He wasn't aware of all the hospital regulations, maybe flower delivery was perfectly normal at all hours, as long as someone showed up to drop them off. He wondered who'd sent them as he made himself comfortable in the chair again, maybe Mom'd found a 24 hour florist on the way home. Did those exist? If they did, he was sure his Mom knew where to find them. She knew _everything_. Somehow.

The door clicked. Kaito cracked an eye open, just a slit, although that was quickly fouled by the blinding light from the hallway. Instead he listened; the footsteps were distinctive, hinting toward a heavyset person. A smell tickled his nose—coffee? All that was left was a faint sigh as the elder settled into the chair next to him, "Professor?"

"Aaah, my apologies Kaito-kun." Yep, he was right. "Did I wake you up?"

"Nah." He doubted he could get back to sleep, not with the way paranoia was doing a jig on his nerves. "I'm too twitchy to sleep." What he wouldn't give for his card-gun, or even just a handful of his other tools. Ever since he'd become Kid, he always kept _something_ on him. He never used it, but it reassured him that he could get away if need be. A smoke pellet here, a sleeping grenade there, and he would be able to escape from anything.

They gave him the reassurance that he _could_ always run, if it came down to needing to use force to escape. Nobody gets hurt, not even the bad guys.

But after that guy shot Shinichi, once Kaito'd turned him into a pincushion of dissolvable sleeping darts, he'd been so _angry_. If he'd had his card gun he _would _have buried metal-reinforced cards somewhere non-lethal.

_There was so much blood._

"Ah, right." Kaito fiddled with the watch band on his arm. Agasa blinked at the stun-watch being presented to him on Kaito's open palm, "Thanks for letting me borrow this, old man."

Kaito wasn't prepared for when the old man shook his head, closing Kaito's spread fingers around the small ovoid contraption, "Hold onto it for now. It's even got a flashlight function. See? Press this button here—" Agasa rattled off other characteristics of the invention, including time zones. Kaito just kind of stared blankly in the professor's direction before shrugging and slipping it back on. It was an undoubtedly useful device, sneaky and unobtrusive, and he could think of plenty of practical applications for it. If he could modify it to shoot silly string…

The professor laughed, and Kaito was glad to see some of the tension bleed out of the silhouette. Too bad it wasn't as easy to unwind _himself._ "What? I'd need to take a looksee at the firing mechanism, but I'm positive I could make it work…"

"You tinker?"

"A little. Dad taught me a lot about maintaining and working with…equipment," _Some of it I later realized weren't all for his magic act. "_I haven't recently—no tools or projects."

Agasa shifted, leading to a frown on the boy's face. Now what? He'd been trying to make the professor _relax_, not send him to Guiltland. What'd he say?

"Kuroba-kun, erm, if you'd told me earlier…I could lend you some tools, if you wish."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Though he was having doubts he'd even still be at the Kudou home much longer. Shinichi might not—Mom and Jii knew now.

"Shinichi-kun's parents called while I was out." The professor suddenly changed tracks,"The plane pulled in about ten minutes before. Yuusaku-kun was very worried."

Why did he feel the sudden urge to crawl into a closet and hide? He shifted, trying to get rid of the unease crawling around like little ants. It didn't do anything except wind his nerves tighter.

"Maybe I should go. Check on Mom." And Jii. He needed to talk with Jii-chan. The last thing his nerves needed was the on again, off again detective that was Kudou Yuusaku, Kaitou Kid's namer, and Shinichi's _father._ Not that he was afraid of the man, but…he was a _parent._ Kaito was responsible for his child being in the hospital according to the niggling little voice in the back of his mind that insisted on pelting him with guilt bombs. He might not have pulled the trigger, but the gun had been aiming for Kuroba Kaito all along. It had been Shinichi's idea to take his place, but Kaito'd _let _him. Snake had _killed_ his father, and Kaito'd just _let Shinichi walk in there._

_I was the reason Shinichi was there. I'm the reason he got shot. I…_

_don't want to face them. I don't want to leave him._

Shinichi's breathing was almost inaudible between the conversation and the faint beeps of the monitoring equipment, but if Kaito listened, he could hear it.

_He's here because of me. Because of that _damned_ gem-!_

…_and it wasn't even the real one. _

Pandora was still out there, locked in some rich man's vault or hiding inside a museum display case. The entire charade wasn't even worth anything. It didn't even ensure the safety of his mom. They'd grabbed her once, what was going to stop them from grabbing her again? Maybe he could convince Jii to take her out of the country for a while…

"Kuroba-kun…"

"I'll be fine! I'll call Jii-chan from the lobby, I owe him explanations anyway. A-and—" He let out a yawn he didn't really feel, "maybe I won't be as twitchy at home. I'm exhausted."

Agasa let him go, thankfully. An hour later, Jii-chan had said he'd take a while, his phone vibrated, letting him know Jii-chan was waiting outside. Mind carefully blank—he was trying to ignore his conscience telling him to _turn around right now _and the _don't run away! _accusations—he moved across the nearly empty lobby toward the door, tossing a "Uncle's here! " and a smile to the bewildered night nurse who'd been pestering him about being alone. What was it about being under 4 feet tall that had adults so jumpy?

"Ara!"

Omph. He hadn't seen the couple coming through the door and barely clipped the woman as he moved past. A quick glance told him that the brown haired lady hadn't fallen, and he could see Jii-chan's car sitting out front so he just yelled a distracted "Sorry, Obasan!" and hurried out the door. The parking lot was even more deserted than the lobby, aside from Jiichan there was a cab pulling away back onto the road, but he didn't pay much more than a cursory glance to it.

It was with relief that he slid into the passenger seat of the old car. Often he'd have to call Jiichan to come pick him up after a heist, if he was too tired or hurt to make his own way home

"Thanks for coming to get me."

"Of course Kaito-kun."

And there was something _odd_ about that statement. Kaito glanced across the car as it rolled away from the curb, toward the familiar drawn face behind the wheel. Jiichan looked tired. Eyes lined and heavy—

Wait…

"Did you lose your glasses, Jiichan?"

The car turned out of the hospital parking lot and onto the open road, Kaito fiddled with his watch.

"Unfortunately. I managed to swing by and pick up my contacts, so you need not worry about my driving."

A grin, despite the dull roar that was the pounding of his heart, "I wouldn't doubt you Jiichan."

Except that Jiichan _hated_ contacts, said there was no way he was sticking little bits of rubber in his eyes. Luckily, his eyes were an unremarkable black, unlike Kaito's identifiable blue-violet, so he didn't need to use contacts in disguises. He'd even worn his glasses beneath a tight fitting theater mask, which Kaito knew from experience was awkward and uncomfortable. Kaito didn't even know if Jiichan owned a pair of contacts, if he had misplaced his glasses since Kaito last saw him he would have asked Mom to drive. This person sounded like Jiichan, looked like Jiichan, except…

_He called me '_Kaito-kun',_ not 'Young Master'. I've tried to break him of that habit, yes, but he's been so stubborn about it, I doubt he'd change now._

_This is not Jii-chan._

_But who is it? I don't know _anyone_ who can impersonate someone to this extent. Besides myself anyway._

And…Dad…

"Kaito-kun?" The imposter's voice began, "Would you be averse to some dinner? Your mother is asleep, and I wish to speak with you."

Dinner? At this hour? Kaito didn't let his suspicions show, looked thoughtful about it, before putting a hand on his stomach, "I am a little hungry…the hospital food didn't look very palatable." If he could get the imposter _off _the main roads and the car slowed, then he could use Agasa's gadget on the guy and bolt. He'd used one dart earlier, and the professor had given him a two-shot watch, just in case the first didn't hit.

They pulled into the parking lot of a nearby fast-food restaurant—one of those Western chains that had been popping up all over the place—and the imposter started going through the usual pre-exiting the vehicle ritual. The car was off, the driver turned away and reaching down to unbuckle the seatbelt. Silently, Kaito shifted in his seat, flipping up the targeter for his watch and training it on the exposed skin below 'Jii's' wispy grey hair and above the faded suit collar.

_Fwip_. The nearly invisible dart shot through the air. _Bull's Eye!_

Aside from the initial twitch, the imposter didn't react. Wasn't falling, wasn't slumping. It wasn't supposed to be like that. He'd seen it hit the unprotected neck, had witnessed the same type of dart take down a much taller, bulkier, younger man in less than the thirty seconds that crawled by before the imposter finally straightened up.

"Now that that's taken care of," 'Jii' reached up to scratch his neck; fingers catching on a near invisible seem just below the collar and peeling off the mask. "I can finally get rid of this stuffy face."

Long blond curls fell out from the old-man's disguise, framing the blue eyes of a foreigner's face. Illuminated by the parking lot lights, she turned to face the stunned-but-not-showing it boy in the passenger seat. Her lips quirked, Jii-chan's familiar tones sliding away into younger, female, and lightly accented, "How did you know?"

"Contacts. Jii-chan hates them. And I mean _loathes._" He immediately fell into habits—not quite Kid's level of playful confidence, but enough to disguise how utterly out of control he felt. "You need to do some more research, Imposter-san." She didn't look overly threatening, hadn't pulled a gun on him yet, but Kaito knew well not to judge prematurely. Besides, he couldn't leave even if he wanted to bolt, she'd called him by name, she had Jii's car. Jii's phone. "Where's Jii-chan? I can't imagine he just lent you his keys." Jii-chan was far too protective of his car.

"With your mother." She purred, "He was perusing that impressive library when I palmed his phone." She casually withdrew the keys from the ignition, inclining a head toward the big windows of the fast-food place, "I don't plan on taking long. Shall we discuss it further over dinner?"

"I would rather not." She wasn't lying.

"Oh, but I must insist, Kaito-kun. Didn't you see the flowers I left?"

Flowers _she_ left? The only flowers had been delivered to Shinichi, and he'd checked to make sure there wasn't anything funny in them. The night nurse though, had given him the creeps. Oh she'd done her job well enough, checking the machines, checking on the patient, but then before leaving he'd felt eyes on him. Watching, studying….He tensed.

"I imagine it was too dark to see, but they were Rhododendron. "

Rhododendron…

'_Beware.'_

And given she'd successfully infiltrated the hospital staff to deliver them, essentially been alone with a drugged Shinichi…

"…lead the way."

Kaito did his best to project a sense of normality, both to the imposter, and the clerk running the register. Constant chatter had the clerk smiling with tired indulgence, a sense of "cute kid" flavoring the entire interaction. As much as he wanted to be outraged and frosty with the imposter, letting those emotions out would be recognizable, elicit curiosity, and possibly concern. If the conversation ran along the lines he was expecting, he couldn't afford to have curious ears listening in, even if they were well meaning. He didn't have to keep it up for long; they were the only ones in the restaurant at the time, so the food was quick in coming. Ensconced in the furthest corner of the dining area, he left the bubbly kidditude behind, crafting the confident, but slightly nervous persona he'd decided to use as a shield. "What did you want to talk about Obasan?"

She was looking at him oddly, there was amusement, but there was also something else Kaito didn't recognize. Of course, he knew she knew at least basic acting, so he could just be seeing what she wanted him to see.

"Call me Chris." A foreign name, it fit with her appearance at least. That hair didn't look dyed. "That was an impressive act; you certainly live up to your reputation. Both of them." Something clattered against the plastic table surface. Kaito had to pull out all the stops to keep himself from reacting to the dark green jewel gleaming under the fluorescent lights. He took her knowledge of his background, and her possession of a jewel he'd left in the possession of the man in black, and didn't like the conclusion

He let more of his unease through; pushing away the kid's meal she'd ordered for him, "You don't happen to work with animal named operatives and a clichéd dress code, do you?"

"Smart boy. It must come from hanging around with a detective." A well manicured finger played with the silver chain, pushing it back and forth, twining it around and around, "Well, Kaito-kun, can you deduce what I want?"

He snorted; "I am hardly a detective, Chris-san," It's not like he could answer anyway. "and I'd like to get home before morning, it's been a long day."

"Of course, of course, I just thought you'd enjoy a puzzle. Where's the fun in getting the answers right away, hmm? Isn't that why you always send riddles?"

He gave her the most venomous glare he could manage, which, given his rather non-intimidating image, only elicited a chuckle for his efforts. "Such expressions don't suit that cute face.

"But the fact of the matter is, Kaito-kun," There she was again, being so _familiar_. She kept plowing down the distance he was trying to set up, "My associates know about you, even if some still believe you are your father. They believe you found _it_, thanks to your poorly worded retirement note. They know that, Kaito or Toichi, the easiest target is wife and mother, dear Hiromi-chan." She had that infuriating little smirk on, she knew he had him trapped, "And if they wanted, they could easily spread out the net more, Aoko-chan, Konosuke-san, Saguru-kun…neighbors, classmates…the possibilities are endless, given Kaitou Kid's publicly announced motto."

_Nobody gets hurt._

"_Tell them I don't have it."_

"I could do that. But it wouldn't help." She chuckled, he was _glad_ she found it so amusing. "Kid vanished. Kaito vanished. It is all so…suspicious."

"Then what would you propose?" He was slipping further into Kid's speech patterns, almost scathingly polite. He had to if he wanted to box away the growing anger at the way she was leading him around by the nose. "Send a regretful note stating I've given up my thieving ways and wish to become a monk?"

"No." Her lips twitched, "There is only one way to derail Them…"

He could sense the capital letters in the way she spoke.

"Death."

* * *

He didn't sleep last night. Nothing beyond a few stolen hours when his exhausted mind said _Enough_ and just shut down.

The last decent sleep he'd had was the night after Shinichi's surprise. Afterwards it became a blur of fear and worry, a desperate bid to unearth Pandora that he'd known going in would not work. Luck tended to favor him since picking up his father's mantle, but the odds against were far too great, but damn it he had to try because it was his _mother_—and then came the actual confrontation. He'd had enough on his mind with Shinichi's injury, hearing the two gunshots ring out and echo damningly in the forest of shipping crates. He'd been positive he'd emerge onto the scene too late, that _bastard_ leaning over the fallen detective, finger pressing down on the trigger.

That image had haunted him all night, even though he knew upon waking the detective had been able to hold off the man with a soccer ball of all things. Shinichi had been serious about his "kicking" things at criminals comment. He wondered where the ball had come from, but Shinichi hadn't been in much of a condition to talk about it.

Kaito sighed, head resting on one arm, the other holding the chain so that a milky white gem twirled at eye level. It spun lazily, the concealing spell long since dissolved into dust sometime last night. She'd given it back. A "sign of faith." Bah, more like twisting another knife into his back. First she threatened the detective—his detective!—in that roundabout way of hers, and then…then…

"_I'd love to keep both of you out of this mess." It was said with just the right amount of regret that Kaito could hear the "but" coming on. "I owe a thing or two to your father," Lies. All lies. If they were true, then why hadn't she intervened back then? Saving the man's life would be a more fitting payment than this. "and the last thing I want to do is draw attention to Yukiko-chan's cute son. I can keep quiet about what I know, Fox is…indisposed, and I can even derail any future interest in Kudou-kun…"_

Why would she be doing this? He eyed the stone in hopes it would answer, too tired for a proper glare.

"_You see, Kaito-kun, I don't like to _share."_ He could see her hands on either side of his head, but he refused to flinch, staring straight ahead at the darkened windows of the Kudou-house. Home for the past half-year. It was currently sanctuary for Mom, under Jii-chan's care._

_Her hands withdrew, but he heard a click of metal, clasp catching on silver ring before a heavy weight settled around his neck. A whisper, "I will keep you safe. And your detective too, of course. I keep all my aces safe." Jii-chan's keys were slipped into his hand, phone into his pocket. He refused to respond, even as her hand patted him once on the head. _

_She was gone._

It was a collar, that's what the gem was. A reminder of the _favor_ he owed her. The word left a sour tang in his thoughts. She hadn't been very specific, but, given the circumstances, he couldn't very well refuse.

His eyes snapped up, angling out the kitchen door and into the entry hall. The doorbell rang once, followed by the sound of keys in the lock. The bell had probably just been a warning, an announcement. The jewel was stuffed back under his shirt, a cold, noticeable presence resting against his chest. It was noticeable to him anyway; it otherwise hardly made a sign.

Shinichi wouldn't be out of the hospital yet. Even if he regained consciousness and was discharged, the police would want to talk to him about the circumstances around his injuries. It was probably the professor, coming back for something or other. Clothes maybe. He couldn't remember if they'd taken a change with them.

The two who entered were decidedly _not_ the professor. His eyes were immediately drawn to the man, breath catching in his throat.

_Dad…?_

"Look Yuusaku! He's just like a mini-Shin-chan!"

The next thing he knew he was engulfed in a smothering hug. He wasn't sure how the woman had managed to cross the hall, the kitchen, and circumvent the table in order to get at him in such a short amount of time.

"Yukiko, he needs to breathe."

Amused, but _Not_ Dad's voice.

On the heels of that comment the woman reluctantly dropped him, and Kaito took advantage of the opportunity to gulp in some air. Such a wonderful thing, air was. It was one of those things that were never appreciated until they were crushed out of his lungs.

Kaito was a little woozy, stumbling back a step. He exaggerated slightly, taking more time to recover than needed in order to examine the two newcomers. He had names now, Yuusaku and Yukiko. Shinichi's parents.

"I'm sorry boya! You just look so much like Shin-chan, I couldn't help myself. You must be Kai-kun. We talked on the phone a few days ago?" At Kaito's quiet nod she continued, "We got into town last night and spent the night with Shin-chan and the Professor at the hospital. Agasa-hakase asked us to pick up a few things and we needed to drop off our luggage." She gestured to where Yuusaku was wheeling a set of suitcases, "Shin-chan was asking after you this morning, and we'd thought we'd pick you up and take you over if you'd like—Ara! Yuusaku! Be careful! The souvenirs are in that bag!" She was suddenly drawn away by the man of the household, who had carelessly flipped a bag onto his shoulder.

Wait a second…she sounded familiar, and it wasn't from the phonecall. "Ah! You were the one I bumped into last night!" He hadn't paid much attention at the time, more interested in getting _out_ before the parents arrived.

"Yep! It wasn't a big deal, though I do have to ask—do I look like an Aunty? I don't think I do, do I Yuusaku?"

"Of course not, 'kiko." Came the grumbled response from the stairwell. Kaito couldn't help a nervous smile, this sounded like a long running discussion.

"Anyway. We're just here to drop off our luggage, and then it's back to the hospital. Would you like a ride, Kai-kun? Shin-chan was asking after you this morning."

Right. Shinichi probably wanted to hash out what the official story was. Not to mention Kaito had a bit of disturbing news to deliver. He'd managed to catch wind of the headlines as he was flipping the channels earlier, before he became tempted to throw the remote threw the TV. "Thank you, ob—neesan" He caught himself when she gave him a look, "I've been worried about Shin-niichan. Is he okay?"

"Shinichi will be fine, and very likely out of the hospital by tonight. That boy was never very good about following medical advice." Da—Yuusaku appeared back down the stairs, devoid of baggage and keys in hand, "Are we ready to go?"

After a chorus of affirmatives, Kaito shuffled out of his slippers and into his sneakers, glancing every now and then at the single pair of women's shoes, and larger dress shoes that sat innocently off the side. Mom and Jii were still upstairs. He was sure the Kudous had noticed the shoes, but neither one had said anything.

* * *

It took him hours before he could finally catch Shinichi alone. No parents. No nurses. No well-meaning inspectors hmming and hawing about his favorite teen detective. The professor wasn't even here. He'd taken the 'rents out to lunch, an invitation that had been extended to "Kai-kun" as well, but Kai-kun had shaken his head mutely, looking down at the floor before mumbling he wasn't hungry, and he wanted to stay with Shinichi-niichan.

Yukiko-obachan had cooed and promised to bring him back something, patting him on the head before whirling off after her husband and long-time neighbor. The door drifted shut, and the room's silence was broken by an unabashedly unmuffled snicker.

"Oh yeah, she's gonna love you." Kaito shot a look at the detective trying, in vain, to work on a crossword puzzle. Shinichi gave him a half-shrug, the best he could do with his right shoulder immobilized, "What? You didn't have to deal with her daily for thirteen years straight. Once I grew out of the "cute" stage she started to back off. Somewhat."

"You laugh now—imagine if you'd been the one de-aged." Kaito shot back, padding across the room to the unoccupied, utterly uncomfortable chair he'd been ensconced in last night. He got a glimpse of the puzzle Shinichi was working on; he thought it was in English. It didn't look like Kanji. Or hiragana. Or even katakana. He tilted his head—was that an _s? _It was hard to tell—The roman alphabet written with his left hand was horrible.

"So…what happened? Officially."

The detective did that half-shrug again, "I was walking home. Got mugged. Don't remember much after that." Shinichi twirled the pencil clumsily with his left hand, staring at it for a moment before looking up, "I don't like this. Unless we testify that man won't be held accountable for his actions."

"Shinichi…" He hadn't wanted to bring this up, "The warehouse burned down. It was all over the news."

The pencil snapped.

And Kaito was trying very hard not to think about the charred remains found in the rubble.

"_Those…those…"_

Shinichi was near seething. It looks like he recognized the act just as Kaito did. A clean-up. This meant that guy wasn't working alone.

_Of course I knew that already._ He thought humorlessly. Chris. Snake. Snake reported to a boss, and that boss commanded several henchmen. Capitalized Them.

…_I should probably tell him._

But he didn't. Wouldn't. The bright pink of the flowers quietly stated so, hovering at Shinichi's left side. Kaito sighed and boxed it away, he'd lasted this long keeping secrets. He just hoped Chris kept her word in keeping the detective out of whatever she was brewing.

If Shinichi knew, he'd try and get involved. He was in the hospital because he'd gotten involved this time. Kaito wasn't going to let it happen again.

"Oi, give me the book. Your handwriting is atrocious."

Shinichi scoffed, but obliged rather forcefully. Kaito had to duck the projectile that passed within inches of his head. The detective tapped his pencil against the sheets restlessly, "It's too easy anyway."

He slid out of the chair and picked up crumbled puzzle book, flicking through it to the half-finished puzzle. It _was_ in English. Given the Kudous lived in America it made sense Shinichi would be fluent in the language.

If this was too easy…Kaito tapped the book against his hand, hopping back up in his seat, "How's your French?"

All Shinichi needed was a distraction. Kaito's usual arsenal of magic tricks weren't likely to work, but if he could make the detective use his deduction skills…

"Shaky." Translation: Nearly Nothing. He could work with that. The magician flipped through the various puzzles in the book till he found one with easily translated clues. He hadn't worked on his French in a while, not since he'd translated his father's Arsene Lupin collection a couple years ago, but he remembered enough, "Okay, I'll translate the clues into French, you give me the answer in English…"

Five completed puzzles and much frustration later, Shinichi demanded, "Where'd you learn French anyway?"

Kaito grinned. The detective was improving. He'd struggled for the first two, gotten better once he'd figured out the syntax, and then suddenly began to struggle once Kaito upped the difficulty, finding puzzles with complex clues that required more vocabulary. Whenever Shinichi didn't know a word Kaito would either play charades or think up an obscure riddle. It was frustrating the detective to no end, but at least he wasn't moping anymore.

"Dad taught me some. He used to hold shows in Paris and would fly us out sometimes." And then Dad was gone, and Kaito'd religiously practiced everything and anything Dad'd taught him, because it was all he'd had left.

That dampened his mood. He'd been thinking about Dad a lot the past few days.

"Next clue?"

Sometime later Kaito heard voices outside the door, and quickly switched back to Japanese, "Nii-chan, how can you read this? English is _so weird._"

The detective sent him an incredulous look at the sudden switch to sugary sweet, but understood as hurricane Yukiko clew down the door.

"Shin-chan! Kai-kun! We're baaack! I brought back some food! Mou, Yuusaku-kun and Megure-keibu spent too much time talking, so blame them if we're a little late!" Shinichi's mother bounded into the room, a convenience store bag dangling from her hand, motly band of followers filing in behind.

True to her statement, the parents + professor had been joined by the portly police inspector. The men all hung back, seeming rather amused as Yukiko bared down on her bedridden son, "Here Shin-chan! I know you'd much rather be at home now, but the police and the nice doctors have some things they need to do. At least this way you don't need to eat the hospital food." She plucked a second, smaller package out of the bag. The detective opened it warily, but was mollified by the prepackaged contents and broke apart the to-go chopsticks. It's not like his mother would poison him. Unless she cooked.

"Aaaaaand some for you Kai-kun!" Yukiko deposited the final contents into Kaito's chair, taking possession of the half-completed crossword puzzle, "Mou, did Shin-chan make you work on this? I didn't know you could read English."

"I asked Shin-niichan if I could see it. It's too haaaaard." Kaito complained absently, his neglected stomach making itself known at the thought of food. He hadn't eaten much since the 'nibble just to be polite' last night with Chris. Eventually he'd lost his appetite, but such a thing was not an issue now.

He poked carefully around in the bag, slightly worried about what he might find. Shinichi's mother didn't know not to get him f-f-those things, and it was one of the most common food-stuffs. One of the cheaper too.

He relaxed in relief when he finally unearthed it, finding a portion of pork cutlets, rice and vegetables. With a thankful grin he snapped the chopsticks apart and began to dig in ravenously. Yukiko giggled, "It's a good thing the professor was with us, I was about to pick up sushi before he mentioned you don't like fish."

The mention of the F-word had Kaito choking on the previously inhaled food, much to Yukiko's bewilderment. She never did find out why Shin-chan was laughing like crazy.

A/N: Yes I KNOW this is like horrendously late. It's been sitting for some…er…a long while, pretty much finished. It's extra long though, does that make up for anything?

…Le crap…has it SERIOUSLY been over a year since I've updated this? I don't think I can apologize enough for that :/ Good news is, this story is just about done. Few more chapters should be enough. There was gonna be a whole nother arc, but I decided to break that off into a sequel.


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